


Back to the Past

by Amalia2103



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/F, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Gen, M/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:01:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 108,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23075947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amalia2103/pseuds/Amalia2103
Summary: After the Battle of Exegol, Rey and Ben Solo time-travel back into the Prequel era.  Once there, they try to alter events, in order to procure a better future.
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Ben Solo, Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Barriss Offee & Ahsoka Tano, Barriss Offee/Ahsoka Tano, C-3PO & R2-D2, Kylo Ren/Rey, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ben Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Kylo Ren, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Rey, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze, Padmé Amidala & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala & Rey, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey & Ahsoka Tano, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 944
Kudos: 849





	1. Starting Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Picks up at the end of TROS and then diverges from canon.
> 
> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.
> 
> Cross-posted on Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13586697/1/Back-to-the-Past
> 
> COMPLETE

Brown met brown, as she stared into his gentle gaze. 

For a long moment, everything was silent and then suddenly, they were kissing.

Then, almost as soon as it began, it came to an end like all things and _Ben_ \- no longer Kylo Ren- laughed. It was pure. It was _perfect_. And at that moment she knew that she was in lo- he fell.

Her chest burst with pain, as the Force Dyad shattered, making Rey feel as though she was about to die.

“Ben,” she cried, “please Ben, don’t do this to me, not now. Not after everything. No. No no no no no _NO!_ ”

He didn’t move, no breath escaping his now still mouth.

Rey screamed.

She screamed for her pain, her losses, her hatred, her wishes, her hopes, her dreams, _her Ben_.

And then, a bright white light emerged from the darkness and she collapsed, right next to him.

 _Together_.

* * *

_“Rey.”_

She snapped awake only to be met with nothingness.

“Who’s there?” Rey's gaze darted around her, but still, she was met with a vast expanse of nothing.

_”You’ve underestimated your power Rey."_

”You didn’t answer my question. Who are you? And... and where am I? What’s happening?” She demanded to know, as a flicker of annoyance burst through her, before she released it into the force.

This time, the voice was silent and yet again she was given no answers.

And then, there was darkness.

* * *

Ben Solo awoke with a gasp, scrambling backwards into a dirt-coated wall, as he desperately worked to remember what exactly had happened.

_Kef Bir. Mom. Dad. Exegol. Rey. Anakin’s Lightsaber. Palpatine. Rey’s Death._

She’d died. She was gone, his _Rey_. Rey _Someone_.

He brought his hands to his face, as he choked on his own sobs. 

But then, he felt someone laying right next to him and turned his head to see Rey.

Unconscious, but breathing.

He let out a sob of relief, as more memories flooded his mind with no mercy. He’d saved her... and _The Kiss_. That perfect kiss. One that he knew deep down he didn’t and perhaps never would deserve, but was at the same time one of the only things he’d ever really wanted.

Before Rey, he’d been alone for what felt like his whole life. His parents had always seemed too caught up in their quarrels and work to ever really pay much attention to him, up until the day he was discarded to his Uncle. _Luke_. He still didn’t know how exactly to feel about him. Luke had tried to kill him and yet, sometimes Ben wondered if he should’ve, because then Kylo Ren would've never existed and so many lives wouldn’t have been extinguished in his wrath.

His fists clenched and he worked to blink back tears, when suddenly Ben remembered something else too.

Hadn’t he died?

* * *

The world was black and bleak.

She did not dream.

“Rey,” a new voice, yet this time a familiar one whispered, as it worked to pull her from her unconscious state.

She did not wake.

“Rey,” the voice whispered again, this time a little more desperate. “Rey, please wake up."

Slowly, her dazzling brown orbs blinked awake to meet Ben’s own.

She smiled, “Ben."

Wait... _Ben?_ How the kriff was he here? Ben was... Ben was dead.

She decided she didn’t care and was just grateful to have him here again- alive. Rey jolted upwards, grabbing him in a desperate and warm embrace, to which Ben immediately reciprocated. Holding her like he was holding on for dear life.

“How are you alive?” Rey whispered. “How?"

“Does it matter?” Ben whispered back, "We survived Rey. We kriffing survived!"

Tears of happiness cascaded down both of their cheeks. “I know,” she murmured back, as she slowly left the embrace, to grab his face in her hands. “I know,” she sighed, “but a question still remains. Where the kriff are we? And next to that, what are we going to do with you Ben? You’re a wanted man. You’ll be executed."

A somber feeling fell around the two, as they pondered this. “Perhaps, I should be,” Ben whispered quietly, but not quite quiet enough.

“Ben!” Rey’s eyes rounded in terror before she glanced sadly at her feet, “yes, you made mistakes, but in the end, when things mattered the most, you realized that you were wrong. You once said to let the past die. To kill it if you have to.” Rey paused, “we can’t just focus on the past forever Ben, we need to move forward. All of us. We will find a way to work this all out, I promise."

Her gaze crept back up to met Ben’s eyes, only to find that he was staring into the busy city, from their position in the alleyway, his eyes glued to a sign.

Rey let out an exasperated breath. “Ben, did you even listen to a thing that I just said?”

He didn’t respond.

“Ben,” Rey demanded, grabbing one of his shoulders and jolting him back into reality. Suddenly, she was met with an expression that she’d never seen on his face before. A mixture of confusion, awe, wonderment, fear and something else.

“That sign...” Ben mumbled something under his breath.

“What was that?” Rey questioned, her brow furrowing in confusion.

“That sign,” Ben began again, “it says it’s 3255 LY... Rey, why are we in 3255 LY?"

A mixture of fear and confusion raced up her spine, like tendrils of electricity.

“Ben... what are you saying?"

His gaze rose to meet hers, “we’ll first off it looks like we don’t have to worry about me being a wanted criminal here, but we’re in the Clone Wars, Rey,” he paused, "I don’t know how or why, although I’d assume it has something to do with the force and Exegol.” Ben sighed, “no matter what though, it’s late and it probably isn’t too safe to be wandering about these streets at night. We need to get cover and quick."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	2. Hotel Manarai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey go to Hotel Manarai and reflect on all that they’ve gone through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Fluorescent lights flickered, as their shining images reflected back in Rey’s sparkling brown eyes.

Carefully, she worked to pick her way through city streets alongside Ben. 

As they walked, she found her mind drifting back. Back to all that had happened and the implications of being trapped in this time. 

A time that she didn’t even know why they were stuck in, while a ll she had to help her connect the dots was that expanse of nothingness and the voice. Still, since she had no idea what any of that meant yet, she’d wait to tell Ben about that whole thing.

A time that if they were stuck in might mean that she’d never see Finn, Poe or Rose ever again. The thought made her feel as though a dagger was being driven through her heart. For if they were trapped in 3255 LY that meant they’d been launched somewhere around 58 standard years into the past. 

So, if she remained here, she’d be in her 70s in standard years, by the time her friends were of the age that they were when she first met them. If she even lived that long, which due to her terrible karma could go either way.

Next to that, she was the granddaughter of Palpatine.

All in all, it was a lot to take in.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Ben had stopped until she crashed into his backside, eliciting a grunt from him.

“Watch where you’re going,” he grumbled to which Rey rolled her eyes.

“Why'd you stop?”

Ben paused for a moment, before raising his hand to point at a sign. “There’s a hotel right over there called Hotel Manarai,” he paused, “we can get some rest there and figure out what we’re going to do about our current predicament.”

Rey nodded before pursing her lips. “And just how do you expect us to get service there? Because, in case you’ve forgotten, I don’t believe we exactly have any credits, Ben."

“I know,” was all Ben said in reply as he proceeded onward, but this time in the direction of the hotel. 

So, with a tired, resigned sigh, Rey followed him.

Upon entering the structure, Rey was awe-struck by what she saw. 

Gorgeous pillars decorated the inside of the building, wrapped in creative, bright decor and the interior was spotless as though it had just been cleaned only moments before. All around them were people dressed up in fancy, exotic clothing, who shot Ben and Rey odd looks. Most likely, because they were currently looked like they’d just been to hell and back... and in a way, Rey supposed that that was kinda true.

Ben approached the front desk smiling warmly at the woman who manned it. “You will give us a suite,” he suggested through the force, leading Rey to shoot him a bewildered glance.

“What the kriff are you doing?” She hissed.

Ben gave her no answer as he took the key card from the woman.

“You'll be on floor five in room 66,” the woman told them with a glazed look in her eyes.

Ben nodded and took off toward the Turbolifts, while Rey stalked after him.

“What did you just do,” she hissed in his ear, eyes narrowing. “What if you were caught?"

Ben didn’t look at her and only shrugged as he pushed the button for a Turbolift. “I doubt anyone did, but if someone did then we’ll take care of them when the time comes."

“What do you mean _‘we’ll take care of them_ ’?” Rey whispered back harshly in a retort, just as the Turbolift door opened revealing two Twi’leks and a Togruta, who’d probably caught the end of that sentence, but didn’t mention it as Ben, who’d been saved from answering, and Rey entered the lift.

A momentary awkward silence ensued amongst the five, after Rey pushed the button for the fifth floor.

The Turbolift hummed as it made its way upwards, before finally coming to a halt.

The pair exited quickly, making their way to room 66.

Upon reaching it, Ben inserted the keycard into the lock and the two entered.

While Rey had thought the hotel to be beautiful, the suite was something else.

A high-arcing ceiling curved above her head, plush couches were laid out fancily in the living room, and a plush white carpet enveloped the expanse of the floor.

She shut the door behind them, before her eyes found Ben, who had moved to observe a viewscreen with the words “Welcome to Coruscant” upon it.

“Well, now we know where we are,” Ben muttered before making his way over to one of the couches and sitting down.

Rey quickly shuffled over taking her place next to him.

For a long moment they were silent.

Finally Rey spoke, “what are we going to do Ben and why the kriff are we here?” She paused, “we defeated Palpatine, Ben. We killed him! So why are we here? Why are we all the way back in the Clone Wars? I don’t understand,” Rey paused momentarily, “and it’s not only that, Ben, but now lost almost everyone! I used to have _nothing_. But then I had Poe, Finn, Rose and... and you. That’s the only good thing that’s come out of this Ben. You’re alive. When you died, I... I didn’t know what I’d do. I’ve never felt so much pain before, Ben. It was like my heart was tearing itself in two,” Rey let out a sob. “Why do things have to be this way, Ben? My grandfather is _Palpatine_ ,” she spat out the name like it was poison, "my friends are basically all lost to me and we’re trapped in a time long before our own. Sometimes... sometime, I just wish we could get a break,” she sighed, while subconsciously leaning against Ben's shoulder. “But, I suppose that since we’re here, we need to help prevent the galaxy from succumbing to darkness like the first time. Maybe that’s what the force wants... I mean we know about the Clone Wars from the stories, who Darth Sidious truly is, and about the Jedi and the Sith of this time... at least to some extent.” She paused, “maybe we’re here to rewrite history... the right way."

Ben who had been silent all throughout Rey’s rant, finally turned his head to loo at her. His eyes flickered with a million thoughts.

“Perhaps,” he replied slowly, “but Rey, like you said... wouldn’t it be nice to just get a break? We could leave all of this behind,” Ben's gaze suddenly turned desperate. “All we have to do is steal a ship and flee to a world beyond the outer rim. We could live there peacefully, Rey!” He paused for a moment in thought, “I mean, we owe these people nothing!” He drew in a breath, "They’re the idiots who put Palpatine in charge! Why should it be our job to save them?"

Perhaps if she weren’t so tired, Rey wouldn’t have taken the bait, but she was and so she did.

“ _Why should it be our job to save them?_ Ben! The force put us here for a reason and we can’t just shy away from it like cowards,” she hissed back, as anger began to curl in her gut. Then she paused for a moment, as if warring within herself about what she was going to say next, but eventually succumbed to her anger and blurted it out anyways in the heat of the moment, “pus, they're not the only ones who put Palpatine in a place of power, _Ben_."

Ben narrowed his eyes as a deep anger curled in his gut just as well.

Angrily, while carefully ignoring the last statement, he bit out, “and in the grand scheme of things, what good has the force ever done for us?"

Rey only stood up, stalking off to one of the bedrooms.

Leaving the question unanswered.

* * *

Ben couldn’t sleep.

Two standard hours ago, Rey had stalked off, leaving him alone on the couch.

Alone with nothing but his own thoughts.

Definitely _not_ a very fun predicament.

He knew Rey was mad at him for declaring that they should just up and leave, but _technically_ she’d put that idea out there first. So, was it really his fault for elaborating?

Apparently.

Still, he couldn’t help the feeling of guilt curling in his stomach. He hated disappointing Rey and perhaps that was one of the number one reasons why he’d turned. Rey was someone who saw him. _Truly_ saw him. While his parents had seen the good still resting within as Kylo Ren, they’d known him before. Their opinions were invalid.

But Rey...

Rey had first met him as Kylo Ren and she had still been able to see that _he_ \- Ben- was still in there somewhere.

Even though he would still always have his moments, Rey helped him kill that monster- a monster of his own making- Kylo Ren... and for that he would always be grateful. For that he would always lo- a door opened and his thoughts turned to mist, as Rey reentered the living room, making her way back to the couch, before plopping down next to him. Although, she still made sure to maintain a bit of distance from him, in relation to their prior argument.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she mumbled under her breath.

Ben nodded and opened his mouth to respond before shutting it again, finding himself in a deep state of hesitation.

“Rey...” he paused, before finally blurting out, “I... I'm sorry."

She sighed, but then nodded, moving just a tad bit closer to him, and turning her brown-eyed gaze to meet his own. “I’m sorry too," she murmured, “I overreacted. We’re both probably just really tired."

“We can make a plan regarding what we’re going to do tomorrow,” Ben sighed. “Until then, like you said, we need to get some much needed rest. I know we both deserve it."

Rey simply nodded, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Then, she disappeared down the hallway leading to her bedroom.

Ben watched her go, before heading off to his own, just as well.

* * *

Light assaulted Rey’s eyes, as she slowly came to. For a moment, she wondered where she was, until suddenly, like a slap to the face, everything came rushing back to her at full force.

_Right._

So, with a groan, she dragged herself out of bed and peered out the blinds.

It was most definitely well past noon. Perhaps 1400 or 1500 in standard time.

So, they most definitely would not get an early start on their plans. That was just great.

Quickly, she prepared herself for the day, before making her way back to their hotel room’s make-shift living room, where Ben was already seated on the couch.

“You sure slept in quite a bit,” he joked with a teasing glimmer in his eyes, while Rey just rolled her own in mock annoyance.

“We’d better start plann-“ Rey began, before Ben cut her off.

“And we will,” he interjected, “but first, I’m starving Rey, and I’m sure you are too. I haven’t eaten anything since before that battle on Exegol. We still have time to sort things out, I’m sure, since after all the Clone Wars have only just begun, if it really is 3255 LY. Grabbing a bite to eat won’t hurt. _Trust me_."

Rey sighed, but slowly acquiesced. “Fine, then do you have any place in mind and how are we ever going to pay for it?"

“Well actually,” Ben began, “there was a diner that I found earlier this morning that was recommended on the holonet. It shouldn’t be too far from here, if we take a transport. Plus, it is around lunchtime,” he paused, “then, in relation to us not having any credits, we can...” suddenly, Ben lowered his voice greatly and sped up his pace in talking, “we can just pickpocket someone in the hotel. All these people are probably well-off anyways with how nice this place is.” He stopped and snuck an apprehensive glance at Rey, as if just waiting for her to point out how morally questionable that was.

Rey did not disappoint. “Ben that’s a _terrible_ plan!” She retorted, sounding exasperated. “We can’t just keep stealing!"

“We need to eat, Rey,” Ben protested, "and how else are we going to get around anyways? We _need_ credits,” he paused, “I mean, do you have a better idea?”

For a long moment Rey was silent before she finally shook her head.

“No, I don’t. So fine, we can do things your way,” she sighed, putting her head in her hands for a moment. “If this backfires though, Ben, I’m going to kill you."

Ben simply nodded. That usually seemed to be the norm in the past anyways.

After a brief moment of silence, Rey finally stood and began to make her way towards the door, while Ben followed closely behind her.

“So what’s this place called anyways?” She asked him with a flicker of curiosity, as they proceeded into the hallway, after the door had been soundly shut behind them.

For a moment, Ben didn’t speak, as he wracked his memory until he was finally able to recall the name of the place.

“Dex’s. Dex’s Diner."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	3. The Dispute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey head to Dex’s Diner. Trouble ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Ben entered the turbolift with Rey at his side, as they shuffled up next to a Lasat and another human, who were already inside.

The lift thrummed as it made its way toward the lobby, and Ben knew that it was now or never, so he reached into the force, while focusing on the control panel.

Suddenly, the lift came to a halt.

Rey turned her head to glare at Ben, knowing exactly what had just happened. Although, she didn’t inquire or make a fuss about it, so Ben assumed that she’d pieced together what he was about to do. After all, he did warned her already.

The Lasat groaned and the human followed suit.

For a brief moment, Ben observed the two beings, as he tried to size up who would be easier to pickpocket. Both were fairly young, a female human and a male Lasat, probably in their 20s. So, age wouldn’t really play a factor in this. Along with that, both looked, at least, fairly fit, but judging from his knowledge of the warrior-filled strength of Lasats, he decided that he didn’t even want to try anything with him. So, Ben decided to do something, he didn’t really have that much experience with.

He was going to attempt to hit on the human and just hope he got close enough to pickpocket her for some credits and a credit chip.

Ben sighed in mock annoyance, as he turned towards the girl. “You’d think they would build these sturdier? Huh? Hopefully help will be on the way soon."

The woman simply nodded.

“You know with this being so stressful and all, perhaps after this you’d like to go grab some nice calming...” he paused, trying to think of something calming, “tea... with me."

Ben shot her an attempt at a charming smile, but his gaze mostly just seemed to scream _"help me."_

This was, at least for the most part, uncharted territory. He had no idea what he was doing, and any experience he’d had with Rey was exempt, because that had always felt natural. This... this was something else.

The woman shifted her weight uncomfortably, “ummm-,” she began, but was luckily saved by the Lasat.

Who happened to know her _very well_ in fact.

“It’d do you best not to hit on my girlfriend,” the Lasat grumbled under his breath, as he proceeded wrapped an arm around the poor woman, bringing her in closer to him.

It was at that moment that Ben realized that the plan had gone to shit.

He tensed, “sorry."

With that, the turbolift seemed to magically start again.

Rey did her best to hold in her laughter.

* * *

As the lift’s doors opened, Ben shuffled to the side to let the two be the first to leave.

The Lasat shot him a glare, before grabbing his girlfriend’s hand, as they hastily made their way towards an exit.

Shamefully, Ben made his way out of the turbolift with no credits or even a credit chip at that.

As soon as the pair were gone, Rey suddenly burst out laughing.

“Kriff Ben, that was so hard, yet _so_ entertaining, to watch,” she laughed. “That Lasat looked like he was about to kill you and he probably would’ve had you not started up that turbolift again. Wow, your plan really went to shit, now didn’t it?"

Ben tensed, as he began to defend himself, “yes Rey, I am well aware that the plan did not work, but you don’t have to rub it in, alright? I mean, at least I tried,” he paused, “plus, I did way more than you. You just stood there, watching me deal with my failure alone. You could’ve at least tried to help salvage the plan, by... by doing... something."

Rey smirked, “well actually Ben, while you were busy hitting on _someone’s girlfriend_ , while doing it _right in front of them_ , if I might add, I _was_ actually being useful.” 

Ben rolled his eyes, “and how so?"

Rey reached into her back pocket and pulled out some credits, along with a credit chip.

“I stole them from the Lasat."

Ben worked to blink back surprise. “Wha-what? You did what?"

Rey rolled her eyes, “Ben I grew up as a poor girl on Jakku, of course I know how to go about pickpocketing. Although, you on the other hand seem to be clueless in that arena,” she shrugged, “although it was nice of you to provide that cringe-worthy distraction."

Ben sighed dejectedly, “let’s go,” and he led the way to where he’d seen the transports from the previous night.

* * *

After leaving the transport, Rey walked side by side with Ben, as he led the way towards the diner. 

Meanwhile, while Ben had obviously been to highly populated planets with towering structures looming overhead before, Rey never really had. So, her eyes scoured the streets with something akin to wonder upon her face.

Coruscanti skyscrapers towered above the planet’s inhabitants, as they seemed to reach for the stars, while a mass of ships darted to and fro up above as they swerved through the bustling traffic.

Coruscant was just so different from all the other planets she’d been to and, of course, vastly different from her home planet of Jakku.

All in all though, she decided that she liked it... at least so far.

* * *

Upon finally reaching the diner, Rey was a bit surprised to see how crowded the place was, despite it’s grimy appearance. 

Twi’leks and Rodians filled the room, along with two young men and a Togruta.

Soon enough, the pair found themselves being led to a seat by a droid and then handed menus that looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in years.

Rey’s eyes flickered through the menu, as she worked to decide what she thought sounded good, until finally settling on something.

Her eyes flickered up to gaze upon Ben, who’s eyes currently scoured his own respective menu.

“Do you know what you’re going to get?” She asked him curiously.

Finally, his gaze rose to meet her own.

“I’m not entirely sure yet, what about you?"

Rey paused for a moment, “I think I’ll get the Nuna salad sandwich."

Ben nodded and then paused for a moment, as if lost in thought, “I think I’ll get that too."

A momentary silence ensued, as they placed their menus on the table, but the silence wasn’t awkward, instead Rey decided that she rather liked it.

Brown met brown and Ben opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment a droid bustled over to receive their orders. Their gazes broke apart, as they turned to face the droid, thus ruining the moment.

Ben shut his mouth and then, the pair proceeded to give the droid their orders, before it zoomed off again.

“So...” Rey began, lowering her voice, as she leaned in closer to Ben, “we know that we’re in the Clone Wars era in 3255 LY, so it’s just begun. We also know that we’re here, via the force, to probably stop the Empire from ever happening. So... any ideas as to what we should do?"

Ben shrugged, “I don’t know. I mean, we have the knowledge of events that led up to the Empire, so we could probably make a list of things we need to prevent to stop that. Yet,” he paused, “I still don’t understand why the force would send _us_ to do such a thing. I mean, it could’ve sent Luke or someone more qualified ages ago. Why us? Although, I think we should talk more about specifics back at the hotel,” he paused, as he shot a suspicious glance at the beings around them, “we don’t want anyone to accidentally overhear us."

Rey was silent for a moment, before she finally nodded, “you’re right. We’ll talk about it then."

They fell quiet once more, as the droid came over with their food, before placing it on their table.

* * *

Once they finished their meal, the droid came over to take away their plates, and Rey utilized the credit chip that _she_ stole, in order to pay for the meal.

Then, she rose from her seat with Ben following suit, as they proceeded to head for the door to leave the establishment.

Only to find themselves face to face with the Lasat, who Rey had stolen the credits from.

The Lasat who must’ve somehow tracked them there.

“You stole my credits,” he growled and before Ben could speak Rey dove in, in an attempt to save them both from a real confrontation.

“I’m sorry Sir,” she began calmly, “but you must be mistaken. We’d never do such a thing."

“Oh really?” The Lasat grumbled, “then why do you have _my_ credit chip in _your_ hand _girl?_ "

Ben bristled, “it just looks similar. Leave her alone.” His hand moved down to his belt to where his new lightsaber was stashed. He didn’t want to use it, because that would most definitely cause a scene, which was something that they most definitely did not need right now, but he would use it if he had to.

And to Ben’s disappoint, a scene was made, as the Lasat punched him hard across the face, grounding him.

“Ow,” he groaned, grabbing his face.

“Ben!” Rey cried, before she turned to the Lasat, her eyes narrowing, “this is not your credit chip,” she began, “you will leave here now and forget that we exist."

“That is not my credit chip,” the Lasat murmured, as his eyes seemed to glaze over, “I will leave here now and forget you both exist."

The Lasat left with a confused expression on his face, as he tried to recall what he’d been doing.

Rey helped Ben up and he shot her a grateful glance, as they left the establishment.

Thinking no one had noticed.

But three people did.

A certain two young men and a Togruta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should hopefully be up sometime tomorrow.


	4. When Two Worlds Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey cross paths with the Jedi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Before they headed back to the hotel, the pair decided to head to a market, in order to pick up some rations, so that they wouldn’t have to constantly go out to eat. So, after asking someone for directions, the two headed off in the general direction they’d been told to go.

The streets were still packed and Ben kept glancing at Rey to make sure that he didn’t accidentally lose her in the crowd.

After a while, he began to drift into his own thoughts. 

Ben knew that he still definitely had a lot of baggage to unpack from their original timeline, but for the moment he was just happy to be free of it and his past (future?) mistakes. In that sense, he found himself almost grateful to be in this time- the past. A time where the name Kylo Ren didn’t instantly strike fear into the galaxy’s beating heart. 

As the thought of Kylo Ren entered Ben’s head, he felt a sudden twisting in his gut, as he recalled those dark years. 

He’d been merciless, as he’d slaughtered millions, whether it be directly or indirectly. For all those lives, _he_ was accountable. Yet, perhaps if they worked to fix the timeline and did it right, Kylo Ren would never even have to exist and instead there would only be Ben Solo. He _needed_ that, because he felt like unless he completely managed to completely kill Kylo Ren and thus, the screams of the fallen, he would never be at peace. 

That thought was almost unbearable. 

Yet, how could he kill Kylo Ren? He could kill Anakin Skywalker, since he was to be his future inspiration after all as Darth Vader. Yet, that would most definitely create a terrible paradox, since he was the man’s grandson. So no, he could not kill Skywalker. He’d have to come up with another way. Perhaps, he could just work to try to stop Skywalker from turning. 

Ben found that thought almost laughable though, because how could _he_ stop Skywalker from turning to the dark side? He already had himself and committed mass genocide. He was the last person who should be trying to pull off something like that. 

Still it needed to happen. 

Perhaps he could just get Rey to do it for him. She had already made it rather clear that she wanted to prevent the Empire from ever being occurring anyways and according to history, Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the dark side was one of the major events that led up to that. So, she’d have to help him prevent such a thing. 

Wouldn’t she?

Ben was yanked from his thoughts, as he felt Rey stiffen next to him.

“We’re being followed,” she whispered, barely moving her lips. Then, subtly, she nodded in the direction of a Togruta, flanking their left side.

“She’s been following us since we left the diner,” Rey whispered.

For a moment Ben was surprised that Rey had noticed such a thing before him, but then he realized that he had no reason to be surprised. After all, the reason that Rey had probably picked up on being tailed was because she had practice. All due to _his_ First Order. 

It was _his_ fault that she was forced to constantly be in the mindset of being on the run.

He pushed that thought to the back of his head. He’d just have to deal with that later. There was no time for thoughts like that now.

“Follow me,” he murmured, before pivoting rather sharply to the right and into an alleyway.

* * *

Ahsoka watched as the force user and the man, spun into an alleyway, before picking up her comlink, to com both her Master and Master Kenobi.

“My cover’s blown, they’re on the move."

* * *

Ben bolted through the alleyway, Rey at his side.

“Well, this is just great! Your mind trick sure saved us in the long-term!” He grumbled sarcastically.

Rey narrowed her eyes, still keeping up her pace. “Well, if you weren’t so preoccupied with getting a black eye, then we could’ve sorted it out diplomatically and I wouldn’t have even needed to use the mind trick, _Ben_."

Biting words filled Ben’s tongue, but he didn’t get a chance to say any of them, because at that moment, two Jedi with flashy blue lightsabers flipped off a building from above, before landing right in front of them.

The pair skidded to a halt and momentarily spun around to see if they could try and escape the way they’d come in, only to see the Togruta from earlier, now wielding a green lightsaber in a reverse grip.

“Wow, good job Rey,” Ben hissed. “Now we’ve got Jedi after us."

Rey shot him glare, but other than that she didn’t take the bait.

One of the men, a red-haired Jedi, slowly made his way closer to them, causing Ben to bring his hand to the hilt of his own new lightsaber.

“I believe it would do you best to come with us,” the man spoke carefully, “after all, there is no need for violence,” he continued, having noticed Ben’s defensive action.

When the man was less than a meter away, Ben picked up his lightsaber and ignited it at his side.

“I’m willing to work out negotiations, but for your own safety, don’t get any closer."

* * *

Anakin’s eyes first widened and then narrowed at the sight of the lightsaber. So, it looked like the girl wasn’t the only force user between the two of them.

But then, an odd feeling suddenly overtook him.

That ‘saber. It looked... familiar.

He brushed the thought away for the moment, before making his way over to Obi-Wan’s side.

“Where did you get that?” He asked, while shooting a pointed look at the lightsaber. “You’re not a Jedi and neither is the girl. So, who are you and why do you have a lightsaber?"

The lightsaber-wielding force-user seemed to hesitate before replying. “I’m Ben... Solo and the _girl_ is Rey,” he paused once more before continuing, “the lightsabers were given to us.”

The answers were incredibly vague, but Anakin nodded. He couldn’t detect any lies anyways, so it could pass for the truth.

At least for now.

“Well then,” Obi-Wan proceeded in his negotiations, “while, I have to say that I am most curious about your... origins. It would be nice, if you would kindly hand over those credits you stole,” he paused, “and then you can be on your merry way."

* * *

To say that Rey was stressed was an understatement, as she worked to take calming breaths and release her aggravation into the force.

Of course, it was their luck that the one group of people who they needed to befriend now considered them to be criminals.

This whole situation was just _great_.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid we can’t do that,” she replied slowly, her tone filled with a practiced patience from having to occasionally negotiate for the Resistance.

She unclipped Leia’s lightsaber from her belt, but did not yet ignite it. 

She wasn’t quite as rash as Ben.

“This is your last chance,” the red-haired man spoke again, “just hand over the credits and we can avoid resolving this in such an uncivilized manner."

For a few moments, a tense silence ensued. They needed these credits, and while Rey supposed that they could just hand over the credit chip and credits, and then go steal some from someone else later, she was more than sure that the Jedi had already predicted that that might be their next move.

She sighed, as she stared at her lightsaber. They needed these credits, but they also needed the trust of the Jedi, if they were to prevent the Empire.

Rey knew that she had to make a choice and fast.

So, with a final clarity shining in her eyes, she clipped the lightsaber back on her belt, before pulling both the credits and credit chip out of her pocket.

A million thoughts rushed through her head, before she spoke, “we’re going to keep the credits, but we want to accompany you back to your Jedi Temple,” Rey paused. “We have important information that will be of use to you all. So, in return for keeping the credits, we'll give you information. We simply wish to speak with...” she paused again, trying to recall what both Masters Luke and Leia had told her of the Jedi of this time, “ Master Yoda."

Master Luke, after all, had always called him the wisest of all the Jedi.

He would be able to help them.

Rey was sure of it and she knew that Ben trusted her to know what to do.

* * *

Ahsoka blinked, perplexed.

This was most definitely _not_ where she’d seen this confrontation going.

Her gaze flickered to her Master, in order to try and gauge his reaction to such a blatant and random statement, only to find that he looked like he felt about as surprised as she did, before she felt him release those feelings into the force and reinstate his sabacc face.

Master Kenobi, on the other hand at least appeared to be unfazed. “Why do you want to talk with Master Yoda?” He asked them calmly, his brow furrowing just a bit.

Ahsoka took a small step forward, eager to see where this was going.

Finally, the girl- _Rey_ , spoke, “it’s... classified. We can’t tell you,” she paused, “please you just have to trust us."

Ahsoka reached into the force, to try and figure out what Rey's intentions were, but was only met with the light.

Ahsoka watched, as her Master’s gaze darkened and he opened his mouth, but before he could even utter a word, Master Kenobi beat him to it.

“Alright,” he began, before pausing, “you can talk to Master Yoda and we’ll _consider_ letting you keep the credits, but we can make no promises.” His gaze flickered to Ben, as he finally acquiesced and deactivated the lightsaber, before clipping it, once more, to his belt.

Ben raised his eyes, to finally meet Master Kenobi’s.

“Lead the way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	5. Do.  Or do not.  There is no try.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey meet Master Yoda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Ben followed the Jedi, Rey at his side, as they led the way to the Temple.

As they walked, his thoughts began to drifted off and he found himself wondering who these particular Jedi were. While they could, Of course, be anyone, he just felt like there was more to it than that. Especially, with the darker-haired man. He felt like he knew him from... somewhere, but of course that had to be impossible. 

All of these Jedi had probably died before his time anyways.

Done with speculating, Ben turned his full attention back to the group, “so, we’ve given you all our names, but you have yet to give us yours. Who are you?"

The Togruta was the first to speak, “Well, I’m Ahsoka Tano,” she paused, before gesturing to the red-haired man, “that’s Master Obi-Wan Kenobi,” finally, she nodded at the other man, “and that’s my Master, Skyguy."

For a brief moment, the dark-haired man’s shoulders stiffened in mock annoyance, “my name is Anakin Skywalker, _S_ _nips_ ,” he sighed. “Now let’s hurry, it’s getting late."

_Anakin Skywalker._

The color drained from Ben’s face and for a moment he froze.

_”Ben!"_

_He froze. “Hesitation is a weakness,” a voice whispered in his mind._

_Kylo Ren spun around._

_“Han Solo, I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time."_

_A mix of fear, guilt, anger and anticipation warred within him._

_The bridge creaked beneath his feet and he realized almost instantly that he really didn’t want to do this._

_“You must,” a voice whispered in his mind. “Do it! You must do it and finish what Darth Vader started!"_

_His fath- Han Solo approached, getting closer._

_“Take off that mask, you don’t need it."_

_At first, he refused, because then it would be Ben Solo who killed his father, not Kylo Ren who killed Han Solo._

_Still, he knew that he needed to further prove, if not to himself, then to the spirit of Darth Vader that he was able to do this. With or without the mask, he **was**_ _and **had to** **be** Kylo Ren._

_“What do you think you’ll see if I do?"_

_“The face of my son."_

_Anger curled in Ren’s gut, because Han Solo’s **son** was dead. There was only Kylo Ren now._

_However, a tiny voice in the back of his head told him that that wasn't entirely true._

_He took off the mask and stared at his fath- Han Solo, face to face, for the first time in years._

_He missed- **hated** him._

_There was only Kylo Ren._

_“Your son is gone. He was weak and foolish like his father. So I destroyed him."_

_There was only Kylo Ren._

_“That’s what Snoke wants you to believe, but it’s not true. My son is alive."_

_There was only Be- Kylo Ren._

_“No. The Supreme Leader is wise."_

_He had to finish what Darth Vader had started, so nothing could be allowed to get in his way._

_There was only Kylo Ren. Ben Solo was dead._

_“Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he’ll crush you. You know it’s true."_

_Snoke was wise, just like Darth Vader. Ben missed his life- **NO** , there was only Kylo Ren._

_“It’s too late."_

__There was no turning back now. He had to finish what Darth Vader started._ _

_“No, it’s not. Leave here with me, come home. We miss you."_

_Unshed tears shimmered in his eyes. He missed- There was only Kylo Ren._

_“I’m being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain. I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?"_

_There was only Kylo Ren. _There was only Kylo Ren. There was only Kylo Ren. There was only Kylo Ren. There was only **Kylo Ren!**__

_“Yes, anything."_

_The helmet thudded to the ground, as loud as life and then, as quiet as death._

_Kylo Ren unclipped his lightsaber from his belt._

_He knew what he had to do._

_Darkness engulfed the room and their faces became illuminated in stark red light, reflected from their surroundings._

_There was only Kylo Ren._

_The lightsaber switched on and his fath- Han Solo’s face contorted in pain and shock._

_Chewbacca cried out in the distance and the one he would eventually come to love let out a scream of raw pain._

_This was all his fault and he knew it._

_Because he was Kylo Ren. He was a **monster**._

_“Thank you."_

_Suddenly, there was a hand on his face and eyes filled with love._

_He didn’t deserve this._

_He had to finish what Darth Vader started._

_His father’s body fell into the abyss below._

_There was only Kylo Ren._

_But that wasn't true. It never was._

Rey nudged his shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts.

Her eyes filled with concern and dark understanding.

She knew, just as well, who Anakin Skywalker was to become and his connection to Ben.

“Are you okay?” She breathed.

Luckily, she was the only one who seemed to have noticed his conflicted state.

Ben simply nodded and Rey let it go. However, it was rather obvious that his answer did not leave her convinced that her worries were unprecedented.

He would talk to her about it later, but not right now. Not with all of these Jedi around.

Especially Anakin Skywalker.

The future idol of Kylo Ren.

The man whose memory led him to killing his own father.

* * *

Rey was relieved, as soon as they finally reached the Jedi Temple.

It was big and grand, although she had to admit that she’d expected it to have a bit more color.

For, even though Rey felt the raw power emitting from within, it honestly seemed a bit dull. Like it was missing something.

Rey pushed those thoughts aside, as she followed Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano into the Jedi Temple.

They made their way down a vast hallway, while other Jedi shot them curious glances and rather subconsciously, Rey found herself moving closer to Ben until their shoulders brushed together.

Ben didn’t seem to mind.

Finally, Obi-Wan opened a door to a room with light flickering through the closed blinds that were now all around them.

Rey’s gaze fell upon Master Yoda, who currently occupied a cushioned seat in the corner of the room.

“Master Yoda,” Obi-Wan greeted. “We found these two-“

Yoda cut him off before he could continue.

“Already know why they are here, I do,” he paused when Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka didn’t seem to take the hint. “Leave, you may."

Obi-Wan seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then shut the door and disappeared from sight.

“Come a long way, you have,” Master Yoda remarked. “Sit, you may."

Ben and Rey sat, facing opposite of Master Yoda.

Ben paused for a moment, before speaking, “Master Yoda, I know that this is going to sound crazy, but we’re-"

Just like his namesake, Ben found himself cut off just as well.

“From the future, you are. Yes, yes, this I know,” he said as though he were simply discussing the weather.

Ben and Rey just stared at him, equally shocked.

“Felt a disturbance in the force, I did, but know the details of why you are here, I do not. Tell me, you must."

Rey sighed, while it was great that they’d managed to jump the time travel hurdle, they still had quite a bit of explaining to do.

It was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	6. A Night to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey work through some issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

They finally managed to finish their tale, just as the sunlight disappeared from the blinds, enveloping them in shadow.

Ben watched as Master Yoda seemed to mull everything over, seemingly lost in his own realm of thought.

“The Dark Lord of the Sith Palpatine is,” Master Yoda paused, “expect that, I did not."

For a few more fleeting moments, the Jedi Master was silent, before finally he seemed to have found his voice again. “A new lightsaber, you will need,” he remarked casually to Ben, completely dropping the dark subject of Palpatine and everything else that Ben considered much more dire. “Use Anakin’s lightsaber, you can not. Create a paradox, it could,” again, the Master paused, “go to Ilum with Kenobi and Skywalker, you will. Your own lightsabers,” he turned his gaze to now meet Rey’s, “you both will forge."

While Ben knew that Master Yoda was right, he still felt like it was a small thing to dwell over in comparison to Chancellor Palpatine being both the Dark Lord of the Sith and the orchestrator of the ongoing Clone Wars.

“Master Yoda, of course I agree with you,” Ben began, “but shouldn’t we be more focused on arresting Palpatine?” His brow furrowed in confusion, as he quizzically examined the Jedi Master, awaiting his response. For, while he’d heard and saw that Master Yoda was very wise, he was rather troubled by how he’d barely even gone into what they were to do about Palpatine yet, besides just mentioning his name.

Yoda tilted his head in thought, as though trying to think how to best phrase what he was about to say next.

“Arrest him, we cannot,” the Jedi Master replied much to Ben’s disappointment and confusion, “for no evidence, do we have.” 

Finally, Ben understood. For if they were to arrest Palpatine now, they would most likely just be called traitors on the basis of no solid evidence.

Sorta like what happened the first time.

Still, Master Yoda was not quite done yet, “when get back from Ilum, you do. Be placed on the Chancellor's security detail, you will,” he paused, “prevent the Empire we must and powerful you both are, descendants of Anakin Skywalker and Sheev Palpatine.” 

Rey stiffened at the reminder and Ben shot her an empathetic glance.

Master Yoda sighed, “when evidence, you have. Give it to me, you will.” He flicked his gaze back to Ben, “stay at the Jedi Temple, both of you will. To your rooms, Knight Skywalker, Master Kenobi and Padawan Tano will show you."

“We already have a room at Hotel Manarai,” Rey pointed out.

Master Yoda shot her an amused glance, “and stole it, you did."

She fell silent.

Ben waited expecting more, but that was all Master Yoda seemed to be willing to say, at least for now.

“Go now, you will. Talk again tomorrow, we will."

So with that Ben and Rey stood, leaving the room and making their way into the hallway where Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were still waiting.

* * *

Upon being led to an empty room, adjacent to Ben’s, Rey flopped down on one of the small sofas that adorned the room.

She was exhausted and all she wanted to do now was sleep, but Ben apparently seemed to have other ideas, as he quietly snuck into her room. 

Upon entering, his force signature filled the room with a soothing warmth that it had seemed to lack before, but there was also something else there. Next to that warmth there was pain, guilt and suffering.

“Rey?” She heard his voice, whisper quietly into the darkness, “are you awake?"

With great effort, Rey lifted herself off of the sofa. Relaxing could wait, Ben was much more important.

She used the force to frivolously flick on the lights, “yes Ben, are you alright?"

He didn’t respond, instead he just walked right up to her and wrapped her up in his arms. Holding her like he was afraid that she’d disappear forever.

For a moment Rey stood, shock still, surprised at his sudden show of affection, but then she too wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him close to her.

Concern laced her tone as her gaze lit up like firecrackers in the night, “Ben what’s wrong?"

For a long moment Ben continued to remain silent, before he finally pulled away from the embrace and gestured to a love seat adjacent to the sofa.

“Do... do you mind if we sit down?” He asked her and now that she could see his eyes, she could tell that his expressive brown eyes were swimming with emotion and tears.

She nodded, “of course, Ben. Just... just talk to me."

* * *

Ben pretty much fell onto the love seat, before waiting for Rey to join him, so that he could confess what was on his mind.

His hands fidgeted in his lap and his eyes fixated on the ground.

Ben trusted Rey and he knew what he wanted to say.

He just didn’t know how to say it.

Rey placed a hand over his own fidgeting ones, stilling them,

Ben's gaze finally rose to meet her own once more, his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

She looked so concerned, so worried and he hated that it was his fault that she felt way. Yet, at the same time he needed someone to be here with him now. 

He needed Rey, he needed her so damn much it hurt.

“Seeing Ana... Anakin, Rey,” Ben paused, taking a deep breath. He would not cry, not here not now. Crying was a symbol of weakness and he _couldn’t_ \- no, he _wouldn’t_ let it claim him, “seeing him Rey, it reminded me of... of."

Ben let out a broken sob, curling in on himself, to which Rey responded by instantly pressing herself up against him.

“Ben?” She whispered, worry laced in her tone, “what did he remind you of, Ben?” She asked him, her voice so soft, so gentle, so sweet.

Such kindness was something he didn’t deserve, he was a monster. _H_ _e’d killed his own fath-_.

Tears streamed down his face and his heart felt like it was about to burst into a million pieces, as his fists clenched and then unclenched.

He let go of all of his control, and words came streaming out of his mouth in a rapid fire fashion, laced with pain, hurt, guilt and anger- anger directed at none other, but himself.

“I killed him Rey,” he blurted out, pulling away from the embrace, “I killed my own _father_. The man who helped raise me, the man who _trusted_ me and I just killed him in cold blood,” his breaths came out in shaky rasps. “I killed him Rey, like the _monster_ I am, and he just cupped my face in his hands and still found it in his heart to love me! How could he love me, Rey! _I killed him!_ I killed him for _Snoke_ , I killed him for _Palpatine_ , I killed him for _Vader_ and I killed him fo-for my- _myself_. I never deserved him or my mother, or even _you_. I committed mass genocide, Rey. I stood there and watched as whole villages and planets burned in raging fires of my own creation. I am a _monster_ , Rey! A _monster_!"

His frantic gaze darted around the room and his hands began to fidget again under Rey’s grasp. “It was my fault they died Rey- and your friends, Rey. I _tortured_ them, I _killed_ them. I don’t deserve this, I don’t deserve to just get to start over when they all died at my hand, Rey. It’s just unfair! It’s just so kriffing unfair!” He paused to catch his breath and his eyes darkened, as his words lost more and more continuity. “I should’ve been the one dead, Rey. Lu-Luke should’ve killed me. He should’ve just kriffing killed me when he had the chance,” he sobbed, “I... I sh-should be _dead_."

He choked on his own sobs, before raising his gaze to meet Rey’s own. While she had appeared to be concerned before, her worries had seemed to jump to a whole new level, as tears now cascaded from her eyes like miniature streams and she lunged forward to hold him, once more, in a desperate embrace.

His head fell on her shoulder and his tears began to drench her clothes.

“Ben,” he heard her whisper with a terrified lilt in her voice, “B-Ben that wasn’t you, okay?” She leaned back momentarily to cup his face in her gentle hands. “That was _Kylo Ren_ who did those terrible things,” she paused, pulling him closer to her, as though she were afraid that he’d disappear forever. Just like he already had. "Kylo Ren slaughtered millions, including his own father, yes,” pain flashed through him tenfold at the mention of his father and Rey pulled him even closer, “but please Ben, you are not Kylo Ren. You are someone else entirely and you deserve a second chance at life."

“How do you know?” He croaked, his voice hitching half-way through the sentence.

She pulled away slightly, so that their gazes could meet once more.

“I know be-because, I fell in love with _Ben Solo,_ not Kylo Ren. You deserve to live, because you are not him. You are your own person,” she paused for a moment, her breaths coming out shakily, as she frantically searched his gaze, "I love you Ben Solo... I love you,” she paused, her eyes watering, “okay?"

Shock lit up Ben’s face at her words, as _"_ _I love you Ben Solo"_ echoed in his ears.

“You... you love me?” He asked her tentatively, as if afraid that she might suddenly take the words back. Just like almost everyone else in his life had seemed to already, at some point.

But Rey was different- she was different from every single one of them.

Her eyes seemed to widen a bit in surprise, as though surprised by how much she’d said, but still she stuck with her word.

“Yes Ben, I love you."

Tears streamed down both of their faces, as brown met brown and they found themselves lost in each other’s gazes.

“I love you too, Rey."

They remained there for the rest of the night, just holding each other until finally, sleep came and they drifted off in each other's arms. 

Never letting go.

Not even once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	7. Off to Ilum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey head to Ilum, with Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, to construct their own lightsabers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Rey was startled awake by a gentle rapping at the front door.

With a sigh, she moved to push herself up and onto her feet. Yet, she gave pause with a small jump, when she felt someone leaning against her. For a moment, in the darkened aura of the early hours, she wasn’t quite certain who it was. At least right away. Still, the moment passed quickly and Rey found herself suddenly recalling the events of the previous night.

When they’d confessed their love for one another.

Her thoughts were forcefully cut off, as the gentle rapping turned urgent and rapid. 

Whoever was at the door, definitely lacked patience and common sense, given how early it was. Still, Rey forced herself to stand before, gently shaking Ben awake.

His sparkling brown eyes blearily blinked awake, before finding her own and shooting her a pouting look as if to ask why she’d woken him up so early.

“There’s someone at the door,” she murmured thoughtfully, “I thought you’d rather be up, over being caught sleeping in my room."

Ben nodded, before letting out a yawn and forcing himself to his feet. 

“About last night, we should talk more about that later,” he promised her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

Both of them simultaneously seemed forget, once more, that their was a person at the door.

A small smile danced across Rey’s face. 

“I’d like that."

The knocking turned into a brutal sequence of pounding.

* * *

Her Master had woken her up early with the intent to catch some breakfast, before heading to Ilum with the newcomers, Ben and Rey, like Master Yoda had instructed. 

All in all, she found herself to be a bit suspicious of the two’s purpose here and why they would need new lightsabers, especially since she didn’t think they were Jedi or at least conventional ones. Still, if Master Yoda trusted them, then she was sure they were fine. It was just better to be safe than sorry.

So now, at her Master’s instruction, she found herself pounding on Rey’s door, while he went to go and fetch Obi-Wan. It had felt like hours since she’d started knocking and she was just starting to give up hope, when finally the door creaked open and she found herself face to face with Rey.

“Ahsoka!” Rey’s eyes momentarily lit up in surprise, “you’re here early. Umm, sorry for the wait... "

Ahsoka just gave a small shake of her head, “no, it’s alright. Anakin sent me up here to get you guys for breakfast before we head to Ilum.” Her gaze suddenly flicked to Ben, who she’d just realized was also in Rey’s room. She raised a curious eyebrow, but other than that let it rest. “Come with me, I’ll lead the way to the Refectory.” 

With that Ahsoka turned and began to stroll down the hallway, checking a few times over her shoulder to make sure that the other two were following her, just in case.

* * *

Upon entering the Jedi Temple’s Refectory, Ben wasn’t surprised to see all eyes curiously turn to them, for a brief moment, before turning away again. He was certain that the Jedi at the Temple had to be at least a little suspicious of their purpose here, especially since while they were trained force users, they were not part of The Jedi Order.

Ahsoka led them to the the kitchens, where both Rey and himself got omelets, while Ahsoka grabbed something that Ben couldn’t quite identify.

After that, Ahsoka led them to their seats, where Obi-Wan and Anakin were already waiting.

Ben sat, adjacent to Rey and across from Ahsoka, who’d taken a seat next to her Master, who sat next to Obi-Wan, on the other side of the table.

“So? You need us to take you to Ilum,” Anakin remarked casually, before glancing up from his plate and studying the two force users. “Why’s that? I thought you both already had lightsabers?” He observing them with a quizzical gaze.

“The ones we have won’t suffice,” Ben replied, directly, but vaguely.

“Huh,” was all Anakin said in response, before turning back to his meal, obviously not quite believing what Ben had told him, “and why won’t they suffice?"

A flicker of annoyance flared through Ben, as he wished his grandfather didn’t have to ask so many questions. 

Before he could respond though, Rey beat him to it, crafting her own lie.

“They’re old and damaged,” she replied steadily to Anakin, “and they aren’t of much use to us anymore. Master Yoda was kind enough to let us go and forge new ones."

Still, Anakin was not satisfied yet, as he continued to bombard them with questions. “Last time I saw them they didn’t appear to be damaged,” he remarked with a shrug, “plus, neither of you are Jedi anyways, so why does Master Yoda seem so interested in getting you both lightsabers?"

Luckily, before the interrogation could go any further, Obi-Wan cut in, seemingly trying to act as a mediator, “if Master Yoda trusts them, I’m sure they’re fine Anakin. There’s no use in a full-out interrogation,” Anakin’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t say anything else, as the five turned back to their meals and were quiet until they’d finished and it was time to go.

* * *

By the time they reached the ship, Ben guessed that it was just about past 1200. 

The air was filled with brittle and crisp accents, as the group made their way to Anakin’s ship, which he’d previously mentioned to be The Twilight.

It was a beat-up looking freighter, sort of like the Millennium Falcon. 

Ben found himself almost wishing that he could be the one to fly it.

_The young boy watched, excitement racing through his veins, as his father led him to the Falcon._

_The day had finally come, the day that Dad was finally going to teach him how to fly it._

He yanked himself out of his reminiscent thoughts, now wasn’t the time to take a trip down memory lane.

They boarded the ship and Ben found that it actually looked fairly decent on the inside despite its very worn-out looking exterior.

He watched as Anakin took the pilot seat, while Ahsoka acted as his co-pilot, before taking a seat by Obi-Wan and Rey in the center of the ship.

While awaiting take-off, Ben’s eyes flickered over the ship, before landing on a pile of Sabacc cards, on a desk, in the corner of the room.

_"Now, the first rule of Sabacc, Ben, is that just like life, there are no rules."_

He shifted his gaze over to Obi-Wan. “Do you play?"

The Jedi Master shrugged, “I suppose I’m alright."

* * *

For a while, Rey watched, as Ben and Obi-Wan faced off in a quick-witted game of Sabacc. While she would’ve played as well, the recent events and early morning had exhausted her, something that Ben had probably picked up on, since he had yet to invite her to join.

As such, for the moment, she found herself rather content to just drift in and out of sleep on their daylong trip to Ilum.

Her eyes closed.

_It was cold and Rey didn’t know where she was._

_Water pooled at her feet, seeming to stretch on into infinity, as reds, yellows and blues decked the horizon._

_A presence approached from behind her, but she could feel them and their force signature like a shining beacon of light._

_Rey tried to turn to face them, but her feet were rooted, solidly, to the ground._

_She couldn’t turn. She couldn’t move._

_Slowly, the person approached, leaving their position from behind her until suddenly, Rey found herself face to face with a man._

_He was abnormally tall, with hair falling just past his shoulders and cerulean blue eyes._

_A warm smile graced his face, “hello Rey.” His voice echoed through the plane._

_That voice, Rey knew that she recalled it from somewhere._

_Suddenly, she remembered. It was the voice that she’d heard from earlier._

_Before she’d been transported back into the past._

_“Who are you?” She shot back, her eyes flicking over the man, as she assessed him._

_“Who am I?” The person murmured back, “I was Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn,” he paused, as if in thought, “you are probably wondering why the force sent you and Ben into the past."_

_Rey nodded, her eyes lightening up at the thought of finally getting an explanation, “yes, please Master Jinn, why did the force send us here?"_

_Qui-Gon paused before answering cryptically, “to have been blind is to see everything and to see the balance is the only way to restore what was lost."_

_Confusion rippled across Rey’s features. “Master Jinn, what does that mean?"_

_Qui-Gon faded and disappeared into nothingness._

_“Master Jinn? Please, what does that mean?” Rey cried out, before_ _a bright flash of white exploded across the plane and she felt herself explode into a million tiny pieces with a scream._

Rey jolted awake, just in time to hear Obi-Wan exclaim, “how do you keep on winning?"

Ben shrugged with a sly grin, “I had a good teacher."

* * *

As Anakin landed the ship, Ben stood to follow Obi-Wan and Rey, who were already making their way towards the door.

As the door opened, a cold blast of air assaulted his face and the faces of his companions, as they made their way outside.

_He was on Starkiller base and the lightsaber was stuck, trapped in a snowy grasp, just about 20 feet from where he stood._

_He reached for it._

_FN-2187... no, Finn, laid unresponsive on the ground._

_It flew toward him and he could practically feel it in his grasp, but then it sharply veered past him and into the hands of a girl._

_Rey._

Ben forced away those thoughts, as he walked down the ramp and onto the planet where Starkiller Base once stood.

Subtly, he turned his gaze to observe Rey, who he could tell was a tad bit uncertain about the planet.

Most likely due to the terrible memories that she had associated with it and Starkiller Base. 

Terrible memories that he’d inflicted.

Like when he’d slashed open Finn’s torso.

Or when he killed his father, because no matter what Rey said that moment would always haunt him _f_ _orever_.

Annoyed that he was slipping back into such dark places, where he really didn’t fancy going at the moment, Ben shoved the thoughts away once more, before forcing himself to think about something else. Something _happier_.

So, he thought about Rey and the future that they could build if they completed their mission.

With that, they entered the Crystal Caves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	8. Visions of Ilum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey find their respective kyber crystals, in order to craft their own lightsabers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

The raw beauty of the caves left Rey in awe.

This version of Ilum seemed so much different... so much different from the one of her own time.

Two tall statues flanked her sides and a frozen waterfall rested before them all.

“It’s so different,” she heard Ben murmur next to her, almost imperceptibly, just as sunlight began to engulf the room and melt the waterfall.

Despite desperately wanting to watch the entirety of the sheer awe of the beautiful spectacle taking place before her very eyes, Rey turned to face Ben and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It doesn’t have to be,” she reminded him, whisper quiet in response. Her eyes lit up with a momentary bout of empathy, before she let her hand fall from his shoulder and turned back around to face the waterfall’s melting ice.

Obi-Wan spoke, “you will find your crystals deep within these caves. However, in order to find them, you must face visions and voices, many of which will portray your deepest fears,” the Jedi Master gave pause before continuing, “when you find your crystal, you must return back here and do try to do so before nightfall when the waterfall has frozen back up again."

The two force-users nodded, before disappearing into the caves and then, with one last glance, heading separate ways.

* * *

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

Droplets collected on the tips of icicles, as Ben walked down the frosted corridor.

He was beginning to doubt the whole _"_ _see your worst fears_ _”_ thing, because so far all he’d faced was silence, albeit with the exception of a few annoyingly dripping icicles.

Of course though, the silence refused to last forever.

“Ben!"

He spun around and the ground beneath his feet shifted from ice to Starkiller Base.

He was on the bridge again and his father stood before him.

_No._

Involuntary, Ben’s feet began to move until he was face to face with his father and then as if on their own accord, his hands began to unclip his lightsaber from his belt.

He didn’t want to do this. Not again.

He stabbed his father straight through the heart.

 _”NO!_ _”_ He cried out, “no, no, no, no, no, not again, not again, _not again!"_

The image wavered and suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t his father who he’d slain but his mother, who now stared up at him in shock.

“Mom?” He whispered, his voice shaking in terror.

“Ben?” She whispered back, confusion rippling throughout her gaze, as tears began to collect in her eyes and then, cascade down her cheeks. “No, you’re Kylo Ren. _My son is dead_."

Her eyes once bright and hopeful, now seemed to hold all of the sadness of the universe. It was too much to bare and Ben wanted to die.

“Mom please, it’s me, it’s Ben. I’m so sorry,” he cried, as shaky gasps escaped him.

For a moment she held his gaze, before shaking her head. “No,” she paused, "you’re not."

Her last breath left her and pain erupted in Ben’s chest like a fire.

He was falling. 

Falling into darkness.

* * *

Rey cautiously made her way through the caves, as she searched for her crystal.

“Rey,” she heard. It was a woman’s voice, whispering from behind her.

Rey spun around.

A new tunnel lay before her, one that she was almost certain had not been there before. Still, made curious by the voice, she made her way down the corridor.

“Rey,” a man’s voice now whispered from the darkness.

She sped up her pace until suddenly she came face to face with a fairly tall women with soft brown eyes and long brown hair, falling just past her shoulders and a man with auburn colored hair and kind blue eyes.

Without even knowing why, Rey instantly knew who they were.

Suddenly the ground beneath her feet transformed from stone to sand and she was back on Jakku.

“Mom? Dad?” She whispered to which they nodded.

“Yes, Rey. It’s us."

* * *

Ben landed with a thud and he struggled to regain his breath.

Slowly, he lifted himself to his feet, before beginning to survey his surroundings.

He was back in Rey's room in the Jedi Temple, sitting on that same love seat.

Rey smiled sweetly before him, then moved to stand up.

His whole posture relaxed and he was certain that everything would be okay now that Rey was there.

“I never loved you, Kylo Ren,” Ben froze, his eyes widening in horror, but Rey didn’t stop. Instead, she continued to speak, but this time with an eerily bright smile on her face, “and I know that the world would be better without you. You’re a monster, _Kylo Ren_. You committed patricide and genocide,” _this isn’t real or she would’ve mentioned your mother,_ a voice whispered in his head, but it was all too much, so he paid it no heed. "Now, you’ve saved the best for last. So here, let me help you,” Rey grabbed a knife from the small make-shift kitchen at the edge of the room.

She approached him, once more.

“You are a curse,” she hissed, “and death follows you like a shadow, because no matter what you call yourself, you are and always will be Kylo Ren."

Rey enveloped Ben’s hands in her own, before jerking them towards her body and stabbing the knife through her flesh.

A look of shock filled her features, as her smile disappeared and a look of horror replaced it.

“You did this,” she whispered, eyes wide. Then, she fell forward, falling slack into Ben's arms.

“Rey?” Ben whispered frantically, “Rey?”

Blood pooled at his feet.

 _Rey’s_ blood.

“No, please Rey! Rey! Don’t leave me like this please, Rey! I _need_ you! I _love_ you!"

Blood filled the room like a flood until suddenly there was no room left to breath and Ben was drowning in it.

* * *

For a moment, Rey just stared, her mouth gaping in shock. They’d come back for her, they’d actually come back.

She wasn’t alone on Jakku anymore.

 _You left Jakku and found Ben,_ a small voice whispered in the back of her head, but the excitement that raced through her overpowered it and she ignored her conscious.

All because she wasn’t sure that she could bare this not being real.

Rey leapt towards her parents, desperate to once more be held in their embrace, but as soon as she was about to wrap them in her arms, they disappeared. Confusion and fear warred within her, as she desperately whirled around to see where they’d gone, only to find that her parents were now behind her. Just where she’d been.

“We don’t want you, Rey,” her mother whispered and shrugged, full of nothing but indifference. “We never did."

“What?” Rey whispered, beginning to tremble, “please no, you said that you’d come back. Don’t leave me, please, not again."

 _Your parents are dead_ , her subconscious whispered, once more and again, she paid it no heed.

“Goodbye Rey,” and with a jolly laugh her father held up his hand and sent her spiraling backwards with a cry.

Suddenly, she was back on Exegol with Ben. Except this time, the battle was over and they were both still alive.

“We made it Ben, we made it,” she exclaimed as a look of relief and pure bliss came over her face. “We did it."

Ben smiled, but his eyes were all wrong. They were Sith yellow, with red tendrils making their way towards his pupils.

“No,” he began, “ _we_ didn’t,” and then he stabbed her through the chest with his unstable red lightsaber.

“I am Kylo Ren and I always will be."

* * *

Red surrounded him.

The blood of Rey.

Pain, guilt and remorse attacked him. Everyone was dead and he’d lost _everything_.

 _But remember, it’s not_ _real_ , his subconscious whispered, once more, in the back of his head.

Ben nodded, trying to calm himself.

“This isn’t real,” he whispered and somehow no blood entered his mouth. 

Reassured by this, Ben repeated himself, but this time much louder. “This. Isn’t. Real."

The blood disappeared and so did everything else.

He was back in the caves and just before him a crystal hung from the low ceiling, calling out for him to grab it.

Ben reached up and took it.

It was done.

He turned around, before sprinting out of the caves and leaving all of it behind.

For just like he’d once said, he had to let the past die. 

It was the only way to move forward and create a better future.

* * *

Kylo Ren stared into her eyes, as a brittle laugh crackled through his lips.

Rey could feel her life force draining away, as tears slide down her cheeks.

This couldn’t be happening. Not after everything they’d been through. It just, most simply, couldn't

“No, this isn’t you,” she whispered, before closing her eyes, “ _this isn’t you._ "

The pain that the lightsaber had inflicted disappeared and she opened her eyes to find herself back in the Crystal Caves.

A crystal- _her_ crystal lay engraved in the body of a stone, just meters from where she stood.

“Rey,” it seemed to whisper, calling for her to come and take it.

Walking over to it, she grabbed the kyber crystal from where it’d presumably sheltered for thousands of years, just waiting for the day that she would come. 

Then, without further ado, Rey spun around and jogged back towards where she somehow instinctively knew the exit would be.

She was ready to leave this place

* * *

As Anakin waited for the two force-users to get back, he meditated alongside Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. 

While meditation was most certainly not something that he felt like doing right now or ever really, there was really not much else to do on the ice planet. So, he didn’t really have many other options.

Of course, he could always try to strike up a conversation with Obi-Wan or Ahsoka, but both of them were already deep in meditation at this point, so it’d be rude to try and pull them out of it just to talk.

After about three hours, he heard footsteps approaching and so he made his way to his feet, with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka following his lead shortly after.

Ben Solo was the first one to make it back and a few minutes after him, came Rey.

Both looked haunted and Anakin watched as Ben slipped his hand into Rey’s own. 

As if looking for comfort.

At the sight of such affection, Anakin briefly thought of Padmé back on Coruscant.

He missed her dearly.

Stilling his wandering thoughts, Anakin turned and led the way back to the ship.

Although, he still couldn’t help but be slightly curious about what both Ben and Rey had seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.
> 
> I hope you all are staying healthy with all the craziness going on! <33


	9. Construction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey finish crafting their very own lightsabers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Ben’s hand in her’s, Rey made her way back to The Twilight.

His hand kept her grounded. It reminded her that he _was_ Ben Solo now and that Kylo Ren was dead... forever. The man who held her hand was the man she loved, not a genocidal monster.

Ben Solo could never and would never be a monster.

Still feelings of unease swirled within her, as she thought back on all the times that she could’ve lost Ben Solo completely to Kylo Ren. She was just lucky that she didn’t have to live in that reality, which was one out of her very worst nightmares. She just most simply wasn’t sure that she could bear it.

Seeming to pick up on her distressed mode, paralleling his own, Ben turned his head ever so slightly and shot her a reassuring smile. Then, he endearingly gave her hand a small squeeze, as if to tell her that everything would be alright, despite not knowing what was actually troubling her. Rey shot him a grateful smile and then leaned up against him, just as they took their seats.

Kylo Ren was gone and Ben Solo had prevailed. She had to remember that, because something so domestic was something that only Ben Solo would do, not Kylo Ren.

So, with that reassurance in mind, Rey drifted off to sleep, while her head rested upon Ben’s shoulder.

* * *

It was early morning when they arrived back at the Jedi Temple and Ahsoka was exhausted.

With a yawn, the Togruta pulled herself up from the co-pilot’s seat and made her way into the Cabin of the ship. Her gaze softened at the sight of Ben and Rey, with the later having fallen asleep on the man’s shoulder, while he stared at her with a look that almost made her want to turn away, because it looked so intimate and private that she didn’t want to intrude.

For a moment, Ahsoka wondered what it was like to feel that way for someone, but before she could really reflect on it, she dismissed the thought. 

Caring in such a way for someone was not the Jedi way, because like the code said: there is no passion, there is serenity.

* * *

After being woken by Ben, Rey had found herself still feeling rather groggy. Nevertheless, she’d stood up and made her way back to her room with Ben at her side, before they parted ways and slipped into their respective rooms. After that, Ahsoka had been quick to stop by with some spar lightsaber parts and Rey had set to work on building her very own lightsaber.

All in all, it was most definitely _not_ easy.

Essentially, she had to meditate, while visualizing her lightsaber in her head. So far, she’d spent about two hours doing so and all she really had to show for it was a very basic outline of a lightsaber that only looked like the makings of one when you squinted and did your best to imagine the end result. Still, she didn’t give up, because submission wasn't in her nature.

With a sigh, Rey forced herself into a state of pure calm, letting go of her worries, fears and everything else, as she continued to work on building her lightsaber.

The process continued to move along slowly, but finally after another couple more hours, the lightsaber was done. A satisfied smile filled her face, as she eased out of her meditative state and picked up the brand new lightsaber before her.

The smooth metal hilt curved in her grasp and she flicked it on to reveal a powerful white plasma blade, reflecting all of the colors in the universe, while simultaneously letting go of every visible wavelength of light ever to exist.

All in all, it was kind of poetic, although she still wasn’t entirely sure why her lightsaber was white, since she couldn’t recall ever seeing or hearing about one like this before.

A feeling of curiosity and a small bout of pride overcame her, before she flicked it off and began making her way to Ben’s room to seesaw his own was coming along.

* * *

After being handed the remaining pieces that he would need to use to construct his lightsaber, Ben collapsed on the nearest couch with a sigh. The day had been exhausting to say the least and all in all, he kind of just wanted to sleep. Earlier, he’d been planning to do just that, but as soon as Rey fell asleep on his shoulder, he found that he just couldn’t. She’d looked so calm and peaceful like that and he hadn’t wanted to even risk disturbing her, so he’d stayed awake, watching over her as she slept. With her eyes closed and lost within her dreams, she’d looked so much younger and so much more carefree, as though the stressors of the world had finally released their iron grip on her. If only for a moment.

He wished that it wasn’t only in sleep that she was able to look that way. Rey deserved to always be content and free of the weight of the world upon her shoulders. Of this, Ben was certain. It was only because of Rey that Kylo Ren was dead and he now stood back in a much more stable state of mind. It was because of Rey that the Resistance was able to destroy the First Order... or rather would’ve if they hadn’t been sent back in time like this.

Someone so selfless and caring, who’d essentially sacrificed her entire life in order to work for betterment of the rest of the universe deserved to be free of worries and stress. 

Ben on the other hand did not deserve such things.

Still, that didn’t quite bother him in the way that many might think. While of course, he wished that he’d made better life choices and hadn’t succumbed to the dark side, along with the power that he was promised as Kylo Ren and was desperate to work to right those wrongs, Ben was content with the fact of knowing that he would never be able to completely deserve to be as happy and carefree as Rey should be allowed to be. For Ben knew that he deserved far worse than what consequence had chosen to lay upon him.

After all, he was back in the past now and technically free of all of his shortcomings with the only ones to know what had happened being Rey and Master Yoda.

That was his only consequence, two people knowing the terrible things that he had done as Kylo Ren, but not really doing anything about it. It made him feel sick, but also somewhat relieved, because a shameful part of him didn’t want to face real punishment, because he was afraid. 

Afraid of what that might mean.

Still, he supposed that he would also have to face the consequence of those thoughts that would always be there to haunt him, alongside the screams of the ones who’d fallen to his blade. That was something that Ben Solo knew for sure. Still, he couldn’t constantly dwell on his past forever. So, with that Ben did his best to let go of such dark thoughts for the moment, before slipping into a meditative state and beginning the process of building his lightsaber.

By the time that Ben had finished, it was afternoon. Content with what he’d created, Ben picked up his new cylindrical lightsaber, before activating it.

A powerful white blade burst forth from within, surprising Ben a bit, since he’d never really seen a lightsaber of that color before and found it especially strange for one to occur naturally, as such. Still, he didn’t question it and experimentally waved it around. It was definitely much more stable than his previous red one, Ben noticed, before grimacing at the reminder of the unstable crossguard lightsaber. With a small sigh, Ben did his best to remind himself that that had been another time. He was here now, back in the past and that lightsaber hadn’t even been created yet.

There was no need to reminisce about it now.

Curiosity quenched for the moment, Ben turned his lightsaber off and set it on a small table in the center of the room, before heading back to the couch and deciding to finally take this time as a chance to sleep, now that he’d finished his lightsaber.

However, it seemed that life had other plans for him today, as a knock sounded at the front door, forcing him to get up and go see who it was.

With a turn of the knob, Ben opened the door and was surprised to see Rey, who fidgeted with her own newly crafted lightsaber, which was quite beautiful, he had to admit. 

Just like her. 

Upon seeing him, a smile broke out over her face and she proceeded to walk into his room without invitation. Still, it wasn’t like Ben minded, he would have wanted her to come in either way and she seemed to know that.

“Is that your lightsaber?” She asked him, before gesturing to where he’d laid it on the table.

“Yep,” he replied with a nod, “it is."

“I like the design,” she remarked, before curiosity flickered over her gaze. “What color is it? Mine ended up being white, which is strange, because I’ve never seen that color in a lightsaber before,” she paused momentarily, before continuing, “although, I suppose it is a bit poetic with white being the manifestation of every color and all. Especially after everything we’ve been through."

Surprise flooded through Ben’s entire being at the mention of Rey’s new lightsaber being white, as well.

“That’s strange,” he murmured back, “mine’s white, as well.” As he spoke, he reflected upon Rey’s theory that it could be a result of their seemingly grey status as force users, rather than being Jedi or Sith.

A kind of balance.

A thoughtful look appeared on Rey’s face, as she took in the new information. “Perhaps we can ask Master Yoda about it later,” she suggested, “he’s been around much longer than either us and he’s very wise. So, perhaps he’ll know what it means."

Willing to give that a shot, Ben gave her a simple nod, before seeming to pause in thought, “what do you mean about later, Rey? Why don’t we just ask him now?"

“Well,” Rey began, “since we probably don’t need to talk to Master Yoda right away, all things considered, I thought it might be fun to spar for a bit and test our new lightsabers out.” A sly smirk enveloped her face, “maybe today will be the day that you finally manage to beat me,” she teased, as her eyes lit up with a spark of mischief.

Ben laughed.

“You just wait, I’m going to destroy you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	10. The Duel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey spar, while Anakin’s suspicions continue to grow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

As they strolled through the drab hallways of the Temple, Rey was quick to discover that literally every hallway looked the same and she didn’t have the slightest clue as to where they might find a sparring room and judging from the perplexed look on Ben’s face, it seemed like he felt the same way. So, without further ado Rey scanned the room for someone who looked approachable and could point them in the direction of the sparring room, because she was simply done pointlessly walking around in circles without any direction in mind.

Her eyes landed on a small boy, around 10 or 12, with fiery red hair and freckles adorning his cheeks.

All in all, he looked friendly enough and was probably a Jedi youngling, judging by his seemingly young age. So, speeding up her pace, Rey made her way over to the boy, while Ben followed behind her curiously.

“Pardon me, but I was wondering if you could point us in the direction of the nearest sparring room?"

Startled green eyes rose to meet her own and a flicker of confusion molded into his gaze before disappearing completely. He was probably wondering why two grown _”Jedi_ _”_ ****were wondering where a sparring room was that the boy probably assumed they’d previously trained in numerous times.

“O-oh, w-well umm, if you head down that corridor,” the boy pointed, “umm, there’ll be one through the second door on the left."

Rey smiled, happy to finally know where she was going.

“Thank you so much,” she replied thankfully and noted absentmindedly that all of the tension seemed to leave Ben’s body, as he was filled with his own renewed hope, “what’s your name? I’m Rey by the way."

“Oh. Umm, I’m Ca-Cal. Cal Kestis.” Then the boy gave them an awkward small wave before disappearing down the hallway.

Rey smiled momentarily at Cal's, adorable young awkwardness, before heading the way that he had pointed with Ben right on her tail.

* * *

The sparring room was circular and littered with mats where the Jedi were given space to duel. The room was fairly full, but no one really paid either of them much mind, since they were all much too wrapped up in their own duels. So, Ben headed over to one of the empty mats and unclipped his lightsaber from his belt, before Rey joined him on the mat, facing opposite of him.

Ben waited for her to take out her own lightsaber, before getting into a ready stance.

Their eyes met for a moment, as their competitive natures filled the air. Then, Rey sprung forward, activating her lightsaber- albeit set to its lowest setting, just like Ben’s, so that they didn’t accidentally hurt each other- and aimed for his side. Activating his own, Ben parried and as such, managed to successfully deflect the attack. Pushing hard on her blade, he forced her backwards, before spinning around her so that they’d switched sides, in an attempt to disorient her.

It didn’t work.

Eyes brimming with determination, Rey took a step back, causing her white plasma blade breaking contact with his own. Then, she flipped over his head, making Ben wonder where she’d learned how to do that from and landed back where she’d started. She arced her lightsaber directly towards his back, but Ben was luckily able to spin around in time to deflect her attack. He then lashed his lightsaber out in wide-arching, but deadly accurate sweeps, while Rey quickly met all of his attacks instantaneously with powerful parries and no hesitation, as though she knew exactly what his next moves would be. It was kind of magical to say the least, but then again they were a Dyad in the force, so it probably just mostly had a lot to do with that.

Soon enough, Ben found himself back on the defensive, as Rey caught his blade indefinitely and pushed him backwards on the mat. Just as he was on the edge, she loosened her grip on her lightsaber momentarily, as her eyes gleamed with the certainty that she was about to win, because Ben didn’t have any room left to really move. That moment of prideful purity was her downfall, as Ben, taking advantage of her loosened grip and not giving up quite yet, began to lash out in quick powerful slashes, aimed at her sides, which forced Rey to once more go back to the defensive, while her eyes flickered in annoyance- playful annoyance.

Just as they reached the center of the mat again, Rey dove downwards, sending her lightsaber at his legs, as if to try and sweep them out from under him. Still, not willing to lose this fight, Ben was able to anticipate her attack, and leap over it, before spinning around the face her once more. From that point on, everything was fast and determined. Their startling white plasma blades, clashed and parried against one another in a mad fury. Both were desperately determined to win and were exerting themselves past their limits, in order to do so.

Finally, Ben saw an opening when Rey sent a sloppily aimed parry at his blade, allowing him to strike at her chest. Yet, little did he know that Rey had actually done that on purpose, as she simultaneously dove her blade over his own and down towards his stomach. As the two realized that they’d landed at a draw, sparkles of laughter exploded in their eyes.

“I thought that you said that you were going to destroy me, Ben Solo,” Rey teased to which Ben just shook his head and laughed with a shrug.

“Well maybe I just let you win, Rey."

For a few seconds they just stared into each other’s eyes, seemingly mesmerized by the other until suddenly they were flung back into reality, as they remembered that there were other people who were also in the room.

Other people who now happened to be watching them with intense curiosity and slight reproach filling their multi-colored gazes.

Ben lowered his white plasma blade, just as Rey did so as well, before his eyes landed on someone, who unlike the others only observed them with a gaze full of skepticism and suspicion, before disappearing out the door.

It was Anakin.

* * *

Anakin, who just happened to be in the sparring room and totally wasn’t stalking Ben and Rey to make sure that they weren’t secretly here as spies or whatever, watched Ben and Rey duel like he’d never seen anyone else do so in his entire life, except perhaps himself and Obi-Wan. Still, even he and Obi-Wan weren’t on this level.

Every move one made, the other seemed to instantaneously anticipate and respond to. There was simply no hesitation and only understanding.

It unsettled him in a way, to see such understanding in combat between these two new people, with intentions that were unknown to him, in the Temple. For judging by their skills, it worried him about what they could do here, if they set their minds to it and he wasn’t there in time to stop them. 

It was almost like the two were talking to each other through the force to tell the other of their next couple moves, before they were even made. Even more than that, these two had probably never had formal lightsaber training since they obviously weren’t Jedi and there was no solid evidence that they were Sith either. Thus, it made him wonder where they’d learned to fight like that. Especially since they managed to fight so well without using any of the seven forms of lightsaber combat. 

Instead, they seemed to just be using their own.

It was both interesting and worrying at the same time to see such raw power, although he supposed in the back off his mind that he was being a bit hypocritical since he’d received and continued to receive those exact same thoughts from many in the Temple, including Mace Windu, and detested them for it.

Still, that was hardly the point.

The sheer power and connective ability between the two wasn’t the only thing that filled Anakin with nervous energy though, for the other thing that he noticed that seemed a tad bit off was that their new lightsabers were white. Such a color was one that he’d never seen in a lightsaber before and to now have these two new force-users come along and have both constructed lightsabers of that color, made him unsettled to wonder what it meant, because honestly he couldn’t even give a guess. Yet, perhaps he could talk to Obi-Wan about it, he was the more intellectual and philosophical one out of the two of them after all. He would probably be able to give him an answer or at least an educated guess.

Anakin was jolted out of his thoughts, as the fight ended in a draw and was suddenly surprised to see that he wasn’t the only one who had been watching. For it now seemed like the pair had grabbed the attention of everyone in the sparring room. 

A few more moments passed, where Ben and Rey seemed to be oblivious to it all, but then they suddenly broke apart, as if they suddenly seemed to feel the sudden heat of all the gazes burning into them.

Anakin’s was flooded anew with suspicion and skepticism, regarding the two, as Ben met his gaze. 

For a long moment they just stared at each other, before Anakin turned and left, off to go find Obi-Wan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	11. Paradox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey go meet up with Master Yoda, while Anakin and Obi-Wan have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Slowly gazes turned away. Yet, Rey still found herself feeling more than just a little bit out of place and uncomfortable. She turned to glance at Ben, who seemed to be having a stare off with someone, but before she could look to see who it was, the sound of the door clanged shut and Ben turned to face her, seeming just as unsettled as she was by all the attention they’d just received.

Then again, Rey supposed that they shouldn’t exactly be surprised to be receiving so much attention, what with their weirdly colored lightsabers and different fighting techniques.

Every Jedi in that room seemed so calculated in their moves, like they’d practiced them a million times only to repeat them over and over again, whereas on the other hand when both Ben and Rey fought with their own lightsabers, it appeared as though by they were locked in a wild dance that held no distinct form or rule. Instead, it just simply was.

“We should probably go see Master Yoda now,” Ben remarked. “After all, it is getting pretty late.”

Rey gave a small nod, thankful that Ben had remembered, because in light of the rather distracting duel, seeing Master Yoda had completely escaped her mind. As all that she could seem to think of at the moment were of the watchful eyes of the Jedi and more than that, Ben.

She grabbed Ben’s hand with a small smile, which seemed to raise more eyebrows around them than the white plasma blade duel had, before the two walked out side by side and down the seemingly endless hallways.

Again, Rey had to approach a Jedi youngling to ask for directions, which had earned them both a small inquisitive glance, before the youngling, who later told them his name was Caleb Dume, explained how to get where they needed to go.

So with that Ben and Rey took off towards Master Yoda.

* * *

Obi-Wan was just in the process of brewing up a fresh cup of hot tea, when suddenly his door slammed open and Anakin appeared, before making his way over to Obi-Wan’s couch.

As Anakin threw himself down on the couch, Obi-Wan eyed him with a bout of concern. With a sigh, he abandoned the tea, before taking a seat next to his former Padawan on the couch.

“Anakin, what’s wrong?”

For a moment, Anakin was silent, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Still, Obi-Wan wanted to give him time to tell him on his own, so he didn’t press.

“It’s about those two newcomers, Ben and Rey,” Anakin paused, fidgeting with his hands, “it’s just, I don’t trust him, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes narrowed in slight concern, for while he shared Anakin’s sentiments on the matter to at least some degree, he didn’t find himself feeling as worried as Anakin appeared to be now.

“You need to calm down, Anakin. Why don’t you trust them?” 

“It’s just there’s something off about them… like they don’t belong,” Anakin took a deep breath and did his best to release his remaining anger into the force, although his fear still remained, albeit being taken down a few notches, “and their lightsabers, Obi-Wan. The plasma blade of their lightsabers are _white_.” 

Obi-Wan’s eyes narrowed in confusion, “but that’s unheard of. Are you sure?”

His former apprentice nodded. “Yes I’m sure, I saw them myself. Do you have any idea what that might mean?”

Obi-Wan sighed, before glancing away, “I’m not sure, Anakin. It could honestly mean anything, but perhaps we should just be grateful that they’re not red,” for a brief moment he paused, contemplating the entire situation, before continuing, “anyways, there’s nothing that we can really do about it right now. Although, Master Yoda seems to trust them enough and he is one of the wisest among us, so perhaps you should at least give them a chance,” Obi-Wan paused, before turning his gaze to meet Anakin’s once more. “Trust me Anakin, I’m sure everything will be fine.”

Anakin sighed, “I know, but having two non-Jedi force users in the Temple, who we’ve never even heard of until just recently, when we caught them _thieving_ is just very out of place,” he paused, “but I suppose, I could try to give them a chance.”

Obi-Wan shot Anakin a small smile, before moving to stand up. “That’s all I ask. Now, how about some tea?”

* * *

Upon finally reaching where they needed to go, Rey opened the door to find Master Yoda sitting on the same cushioned seat in the corner of the room. 

The Jedi Master sent a momentary curious glance at their interlocked hands, but said nothing about it, as they took their own respective seats and finally let their hands drop back down to their sides.

“Build your own lightsabers, you did,” Mast Yoda observed, as his eyes momentarily flickered to their belts, where their respective lightsabers were clipped. “Yet different, I sense they are.” His eyes narrowed. “Show me, you will.”

Rey unclipped hers first, before flicking the white plasma blade on, leaving it illuminating the room, with Ben’s own shortly following.

For a moment the old Master seemed surprised, before his face molded back into one of indifference once more. “Lightsabers like those, never seen I have,” he commented, eyeing the blazing white plasma blades. “Very interesting, they are.”

Rey nodded, “exactly Master Yoda, we were actually hoping that you would be able to tell us why they look like this,” she paused, “we’ve never seen white lightsabers before either.”

The Jedi Master was silent for a long moment, as if in deep thought, before he finally spoke. “Lived a long time, I have, but know what that means, I do not,” he paused once more. “Perhaps with time, know we will, but until then left in darkness, we are.”

A momentary silence ensued, before Master Yoda spoke again, this time changing the topic completely from lightsabers to the Dark Lord of the Sith. Darth Sidious.

“Told Palpatine, I have that, worried for his safety, the Jedi Order is. So, instate the two of you, we will and under the guise of being Jedi, you will be,” Master Yoda paused there. “Crafted, we have, fake identification papers for both of you and trick him, you must, into spilling his secrets,” Yoda reached into a pocket in his robe to grab four small recording devices. “Put these in your pockets, you will and hope important information, they will collect. Tomorrow to the Senate building, you will go and there, Knight Skywalker and Padawan Tano will take you.”

The conversation lasted a few more minutes, just delving more into the specifics, before Ben and Rey finally bid Master Yoda farewell and left out through the door, before closing it soundly behind them.

It didn’t take long before the pair found themselves back in their rooms.

“Do you mind if I come over for a bit… just to talk?” Ben asked, seeming a bit hesitant.

Rey simply nodded, “sure.” So with that, the two disappeared into her room, before shutting the door behind themselves.

Rey made her way over to a couch, before sitting down with Ben joining her shortly after and even though conversation had been promised, for a long moment the two just sat there in the quiet of the room.

“Anakin doesn’t trust us,” Ben finally spoke after several minutes, as he turned his head ever so slightly, so that he could lock his eyes with Rey’s own.

Rey paused before answering. “I know,” she finally said, “we have to find a way to work past that though, because if this is ever going to work, we’ll need him on our side.”

Ben just nodded.

The two fell back into a long-lasting silence, just thinking over their day and plans, when suddenly a thought struck Rey, so startling and alarming that she froze, her eyes widening with shock.

Ben turned to face her, while concern lit up his gaze like a raging fire. “Rey? What is it? What’s wrong?”

For a few seconds, she just worked to control her breathing, before turning to face him. “Ben. I just thought of a horrible paradox,” she paused, her gaze turning a bit frantic. “Ben, if we take down Palpatine now, then I don’t think my father will exist and then, consequently I won’t exist, which means you’ll go back to being Kylo Ren,” Ben who was now looking at her with her own fear reflected in his gaze, flinched at the name, “or maybe, you’ll just be… you’ll just be dead. I don’t know, Ben. I don’t know. Why does this all have to be so kriffing complicated?” Rey’s breathing quickened, as she started to realize everything that could go so horribly wrong.

Ben leaned closer to her, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, in an attempt to help calm her down. Still, at the notion of all the paradoxes that they could end up having to face, Ben found himself feeling a bit afraid at their startling reality and how careful every move would have to be, if they didn’t want to break the universe. Yet, just then Ben remembered something. Something that he’d left out when he’d told Rey of her true lineage, back when he was still Kylo Ren.

“Rey, there’s something else… something else I forgot to mention about your father,” Ben paused, as he worked to collect his thoughts.

Rey stared into his eyes, as her own suddenly seemed to hold all of the intensity of the universe.

“Rey your father wasn’t only Palpatine’s son, he was a clone of Palpatine himself.”

Shock filled her gaze at the statement and she pulled away from Ben’s half embrace.

For a long moment, there was nothing but silence.

“Wh-what? Wh-why didn’t you tell me?” Her eyes lit up with hurt, as she scooted away from him to curl up on the far reach of the couch. “Ben, y-you should have told me.”

Tears fell from her eyes, as she realized the implications of what he was suggesting. That in a way, she wasn’t Palpatine’s granddaughter, but rather his kind-of- _daughter_. While finding out that she was his granddaughter had been a whole level of terrible, finding out that she was, in a sense, his sort-of-daughter hit a whole new level. Although, she supposed this did make making sure that she didn’t get wiped from existence _a bit_ easier, it still left her with a whole new whirlpool of emotions, swirling in her chest.

“I’m sorry, Rey. I’m so sorry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	12. More than Lineage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey have a talk, meanwhile Anakin and Ahsoka get ready to take them to guard the Chancellor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Ben stayed where he was, letting Rey just try to process things for a moment. He felt terrible that he hadn’t told her more about her family history earlier, since after all, she was obviously way more entitled to it than he was. So, he just let her have her moment and hoped that once she recuperated that things would go back to normal. That she would be okay.

“Did you know anything else?” He heard her whisper, almost imperceptibly, but still, just loud enough for him to hear. It felt like a dagger was striking him through the heart at the notion that she might not trust him.

Ben shook his head, “I’m sorry Rey, but that’s all I know.”

Rey gave a small nod, as she once again went back to trying to process everything. It made Ben wonder what it would be like to live your whole life thinking you were no one until one day you found out that your grandfather… or somewhat father (Ben still wasn’t entirely sure how that familial relation worked) was Sheev Palpatine, consequently plunging your family history from nothing into the deepest reaches of tenebrosity.

After several minutes, Rey finally seemed to get a grip on things again, as she gave Ben a small smile, before sitting up once more and moving a bit closer to him... or at least that’s what he thought.

“So… my father was a clone… a Palpatine clone,” a small burst of laughter burst from her lips and a wild look appeared in her eyes, killing Ben’s feelings of hope and replacing them with feelings of deep worry for Rey’s state of mind. “A clone… a clone of Palpatine?” Slowly her laughs began to turn into sobs. “It’s just… it’s just nothing makes sense anymore, Ben. Nothing makes sense! My father, who I thought was nobody, is suddenly the son of Sheev Palpatine,” she paused as her sobs mixed back in with ironic laughter, “but wait! It gets even more complicated, because he’s not only Palpatine’s son, he’s also a clone of Palpatine himself!” 

Ben eyed her worriedly, before scooching a bit closer. Still though, he continued to let her rant without interjecting, because he himself knew how good it could sometimes feel to just talk to people and get things off of your chest. Of course, he’d never done so as Kylo Ren, but he had before, back when he’d still lived with his parents and he supposed that he had a bit with Rey too. So, it was time to return the favor, even if it did break his heart to see Rey like this. “So what does that even mean? Am I Palpatine’s granddaughter? Am I his daughter? Am I just irrelevant to the whole kriffing universe? I don’t know, Ben. I. Don’t. Know.” A sorrowful look overtook her face, as she continued, “you know, Ben. For almost my entire life, I always dreamed of the day that my parents would come back for me,” she sighed, as silent tears made their way down her cheeks.

Ben desperately wanted to wipe those tears away. Yet, he also wanted Rey to be able to just let everything out. She deserved that. So, he refrained from doing so, just because he didn’t wish to distract her by any means possible. Rey needed this.

“I’d be in my make-shift home… or could I even call it a home, if I actually hated it all? I don’t know,” she paused for a few seconds, her eyes drifting to a vacant wall in the corner of the room. She looked at it, as though she thought it might have all the answers, yet when Ben turned to follow her gaze, there was nothing there. “Then, in the distance, I’d hear the rumble of a descending ship and I’d run out to see the platform lowering and my parents coming back for me.” Her eyes picked up that wild look again, as another bubble of ironic laughter fell from her lips to accompany the tears. “But… but now that I know that all of this… n-now that I know _everything_ or at least all that I can up to this p-point, I almost wonder if… I almost… I wonder…” bursting once more into sobs, Rey curled in on herself and this time Ben moved up next to her and pulled her into his arms. Instantly, she returned the embrace, holding on to him like he was the only thing keeping her grounded. She didn’t move for a long time, just sobbing into his shirt, while he tried to give her soothing reassurances that everything would be okay… that everything would be alright in the end.

Finally, after several minutes, Rey pulled away. Her tears had stopped and so had the laughter. Instead, she just looked hollow and sad. 

So very sad.

Staring off into the nothingness of the room, Rey spoke once more, her voice monotonous and indifferent and somehow, seeing Rey like this, just looking so drained made Ben even sadder than when she’d been crying, because it was like someone had taken all the life out of the woman he loved and then scattered it to the winds.

“I almost wonder if it’s a good thing that they never came back,” she whispered, her voice light, but also strong at the same time, “because perhaps they weren’t the people that I thought they were. I mean, if my father was a clone of _Palpatine_ ,” she said his name with an ice cold venom, “then perhaps, he was or would’ve been just as bad. So, maybe it’s a good thing that they abandoned me on Jakku, Ben, because at least…” her voice trailed off. “At least that means that I don’t have to witness their failures and they don’t have to witness mine.” She paused, “maybe it’s for the best that I never really knew them at all, because to be a clone of _Palpatine_ and to marry a clone of _Palpatine_ must’ve made them pretty messed up people… and if that’s true, then maybe it’s also true that I’m just as bad. I mean, after Snoke was killed and I left, I spent almost all my time training with your mother, when I should’ve been going out on missions. Even Poe said that! He said I was one of the best fighters that the Resistance had and yet, I spent most of my time just held up at the base running through the woods and fighting imaginary enemies. I could’ve saved so many lives, Ben, but instead I just let other people do it for me. I’m part of the reason so many Resistance fighters died.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, in little rivers, once more and Ben wrapped his arm around her shoulders, in order to once more reassure her that he was there for her.

“Rey,” Ben began, finally speaking, “you may have the blood of Palpatine in your veins, but you are not like him. Not at all,” he paused, as she turned her head to finally meet his gaze. Her glassy eyes seemed to hold all of the weight in the universe and it truly pained him to no end. “When I was lost in the dark side,” he continued, "you were the one to pull me out, Rey. _You_ . Without you, I never would’ve been strong enough to let go of my all-consuming anger and pain, because you are the sun and the moon, the light and the darkness. You are the balance and you are beautiful for it,” Ben paused for a moment, as he organized his thoughts before continuing, “yes, those Resistance fighters died, but they knew that that was a possibility going in. It wasn’t your fault that they died, if anything it was mine, and Rey, you _had_ to train, because if you hadn’t then who knows how things would’ve turned out in the end,” Ben sighed, “I can’t tell you anything for certain about your parents, Rey, but if they could see you today, I’m sure they’d be proud of you, because despite what they might’ve thought about your life’s journey, you’ve turned into a strong, powerful, compassionate human being, who _never_ gives up. You are amazing, Rey and I… I love you. Nothing you could ever do or have done will _ever_ change that.”

Sobs escaped Rey once more, as she whispered a quiet thanks, before Ben pulled her into yet another embrace. Emotionally exhausted, Ben felt Rey’s head drop and rest on his shoulder, as she worked to let go of her pain, suffering and everything else.

Eventually, they would have to talk about what to do about Rey’s clone father to make sure he wasn’t wiped from existence, but for now, both were just content to be wrapped up in each other’s arms.

In silence and in peace.

Later that night, they eventually parted ways into their seperate rooms, but now both felt a little bit more clarity brimming within them, as they had managed to push past yet another obstacle, yet another insecurity, thus bringing them closer together.

It somehow managed to fill them both with feelings of hope.

And hope was _everything_.

* * *

Anakin awoke with a muffled groan, to his padawan doing her best to nudge him awake.

His eyes squeezed shut tightly in protest.

“Go away, Snips. It’s too early.”

He could pratically feel Ahsoka rolling her eyes.

“It’s 0600 Master, standard time, and Master Yoda wanted us to take Ben and Rey to the Senate today… remember?” Ahsoka paused, as Anakin’s eyes finally opened and lit up in remembrance. “They’re going to be guarding Chancellor Palpatine.”

_Right…_

Master Yoda had called Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and himself down to his chambers the previous night and explained this all to them. 

Along with how Ben and Rey were somehow Jedi now.

All in all, none of it really made any sense to him and just only served to further his suspicions. After all, Master Yoda was the same one who’d originally said that he’d been too old to be accepted into the Order at age 9.

So then why were kriffing Ben and Rey suddenly part of it?

While Anakin had told Obi-Wan just a couple hours prior to hearing this news that he was going to try to give Ben and Rey a chance, this was just all too much. 

After all, Chancellor Palpatine was his friend and he didn’t want these two new _“Jedi”_ interfering with his life in any damaging ways. So, the circumstances presented provided a perfect loophole, since he was only protecting his friend.

It wasn’t like he had to tell Obi-Wan that he would of course be doing something, in order to pursue his suspicions now anyways, since he’d be making sure to stay in the Senate building even after Ben and Rey had been dropped off, and would try his best to continue to do so for as long as he could.

Just in case anything happened.

Besides, that way he’d be able to get to see Padmé more often than he was usually able to, so that was a sure bonus. Yet, if he wanted to see Padmé that would also mean that he’d somehow have to find a way to get rid of Ahsoka.

He’d find a way.

“So, are you gonna get ready or what?” Ahsoka asked him, quizzically, simultaneously pulling Anakin from his thoughts and making him jolt out of bed, still in his Jedi robes, since he hadn’t bothered to change into anything else the previous night out of sheer laziness. “Great,” Ahsoka sighed nonchalantly, “I’ll be waiting.” Then, she left his room, before closing the door behind her, but not before Anakin managed to catch her next few mumbled words, albeit without any real venom behind them, “sometimes I wonder who’s _really_ the Master and apprentice.”

“Snips!” Anakin protested, before Ahsoka immediately shot an apology back. Although how much heart was actually put into the apology, Anakin didn’t really know.

The only thing that Anakin was truly sure of, was that the next few weeks were going to be very interesting.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	13. Near Misses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey guard Palpatine, while Anakin hangs out with Padmé.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

It was early morning, when Rey heard the knock at her door.

Today was the day that she was to go with Ben to guard Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, Dark Lord of the Sith, and all she could think about were a million ways she’d like to end Palpatine’s life.

Palpatine had always been at the center of her story, whether she was aware of it or not. He’d both given and taken almost everything in her life. For, Palpatine was the one of the sole reasons that she existed and yet, he was also the reason that so many of her friends had died, whether it be directly or indirectly.

She hated him and she needed him. She wanted to destroy him, but she couldn’t… at least not right away.

Still, Rey wanted to make him feel the pain that she’d felt all those long dreary years, because while of course, she normally worked to keep high morals and ethics, Palpatine was a monster and far too gone to ever attempt to fix.

With a turn of the knob, Rey opened the door of her room, to find Anakin and Ahsoka waiting for her with Ben in tow.

“Good morning,” Ahsoka greeted warmly, although Rey could tell that her eyes still held a bit of wariness, “how’d you sleep?”

“Alright, thanks,” Rey replied pleasantly, before curiously flicking her gaze over to Anakin Skywalker, who was doing a much worse job at hiding his own suspicions than his Padawan was.

“Let’s go, follow me,” Anakin ordered, before leading the group away and towards the Senate building.

* * *

Even though he most definitely hadn’t been looking forward to going to the Senate building, Ben found that he was actually grateful by the time they reached it.

The trekk there had been… awkward to say the least.

Anakin had essentially interrogated both him and Rey again, which honestly wasn’t that much of a surprise, and then, basically outright threatened them that if they tried anything, he’d be on to them.

All in all, Ben was kind of done with Anakin’s attitude. Of course, he would probably be just as wary, if he were in Anakin’s position, but Anakin was one of the legendary Jedi that his mother and Uncle used to tell him stories about when he was younger. The stories had been filled of the Jedi’s might, power, kindness, empathy and understanding, and while Ben was certain that Anakin had most definitely managed to check the might and power boxes, he wasn’t too sure that he’d managed to check the kindness, empathy and understanding boxes quite yet.

Ben wondered if there would ever come a day when Anakin would and while he doubted that it would happen anytime soon, Ben really hoped so. After all, if they wanted to have even a chance of stopping all the terrible things that were currently set to come, they needed Anakin on their side.

Anakin’s eventual trust was a necessity, sure a seemingly impossible necessity at the moment, but still, a necessity.

As they arrived at the Chancellor’s office, Anakin and Ahsoka both bid them farewell, before disappearing into the large building.

It was time.

Ben turned the knob and pushed open the door.

As he walked in, he had to force himself not to reach for his lightsaber, because there the Dark Lord of the Sith sat at the desk of the Chancellor.

_ Palpatine. _

The man who’d literally wrecked the lives of his family for generations.

Careful not to project his feelings of immense hatred and anger to the Sith, since the last thing he wanted to do was to tip Palpatine off, Ben made sure to tighten the strong mental barrier around his mind, in order to prevent the Sith from looking in. Next to him, he felt Rey do the same.

Then, they approached him together.

_ Sheev Palpatine. _

* * *

After leaving the two  _ “Jedi” _ behind, Anakin instantly began devising a plan to get Ahsoka to leave so that he could go find Padmé. For while of course, he probably should’ve thought of a plan way sooner that really wasn’t his style. Life was ever changing and so coming up with last minute plans were always the best way to go.

Probably.

For a solid couple of minutes, Anakin thought, before finally an idea hit him and he turned to his apprentice.

“Ahsoka, I’m going to hang out here for a bit, just in case anything goes wrong, since this is, after all, their first day and all,” Anakin paused, “but I want you to go back to the Temple and work on your katas,” a teasing smile cracked through his lips, “I mean, I wouldn’t want you to get bored and all, just waiting here.”

All in all, it wasn’t necessarily a lie, but it also wasn’t the whole truth either and just like he’d hoped, his Padawan took the bait.

“Alright, well I’ll see you later then, Master,” then he watched as she disappeared from view.

_ Time to go find Padmé. _

Anakin already knew where her office was, so he managed to make it there easily enough without being noticed, by sticking to the shadows and not making eye contact with anyone.

Upon reaching the door, Anakin made his way inside and was instantly disappointed to see that Padmé wasn’t there, leading him to believe that she was probably at some kind of meeting or something.

Still, all was not lost and Anakin decided that that just meant he’d have to wait for her. 

For a moment, he contemplated sitting down in one of the numerous chairs that littered her office, while he waited, but then he decided against it, thinking that it would be much more fun to surprise her. So, he hid behind her desk and waited.

While he did so, Anakin found himself wondering how things were going with Ben and Rey guarding Palpatine. He hoped that his friend was okay and that Ben and Rey weren’t up to anything, because if they were he’d make sure to bring them to justice.

A justice of his own mind.

Just then, Anakin heard the door to Padmé’s office open and close. He could tell by the sound of her footsteps that it was her, but still, he reached out into the force just to make sure.

He was right.

Coming up from his crouched position, Anakin stood.

“Hello,” he greeted his wife with a coy smile, who was just as, if not more, beautiful than he remembered.

The next few events happened very fast. Padmé, being a Senator who had had past threats and attempts on her life, first jumped, startled by the appearance of someone who’d seemingly been lying in wait for her in her own office, before whipping out her blaster and firing directly at Anakin’s head, probably thinking that he was an assassin sent to kill her.

And really, Anakin had to admit that she wasn’t wrong to be cautious or very cautious at that, judging on past events.

It was only because of a warning received through the force that Anakin managed to duck in time, dropping to the floor.

“Padmé! It’s me, Anakin! Your husband!” He called out, before slowly making his way up off the floor, grateful that his wife’s blaster had been set to silent or they would’ve had a lot of explaining to do.

By the time, he was facing Padmé again, her face was filled with a look of bewilderment, while she slowly lowered her blaster.

“Ani?” She called out, seemingly shocked by the whole encounter.

“Yes, Padmé, it’s me,” a look of embarrassment took up residence on both of their faces. “Sorry,” Anakin sheepishly apologized, “I just wanted to surprise you, but looking back now, I can see how that was a terrible idea.”

Slowly, the embarrassment fell from Padmé’s face, as she made her way over to give her husband, to give him a hug. 

“It’s alright, Ani, I’m just happy you're here,” she gave him a quick kiss, before shooting him a teasing expression, “but maybe next time, don’t give me a reason to almost kill you.”

The couple spent the rest of the day chatting about numerous things, from Ben and Rey to a new holofilm that Padmé really wanted to see. 

There was really only one more close call, when Senator Organa came into Padmé’s office to ask her for advice on something, making Anakin have to dive under Padmé’s table, in order to avoid being seen.

He was forced to hide there for a solid 40 standard minutes. Still, he was fine with it, because he loved Padmé and if loving her meant that he had to hide under tables for what felt like years on end, then he would do it. Forever.

Still, such light things could not last forever and as darkness approached, Anakin was forced to bid his wife farewell with one last kiss, before he made his way to the Chancellor’s office to regroup with Ahsoka, before leading both Ben and Rey back to the Jedi Temple.

* * *

If Rey had hated Palpatine before, she hated him even more now that she was forced to share a room with him, essentially helpless to truly do anything to stop his cruel plans, at the moment.

After a brief discussion, in which both she and Ben had discussed with the Chancellor how they were tasked with watching over him every day from this point on, in order to protect him from any unwanted attention, they had fallen into silence at opposite sides of Palpatine’s desk. Of course, she and Ben would eventually need to try to win over Palpatine’s trust, but since it was only the first day, Ben, Master Yoda and her had all agreed that for the first day, silence was the best. For, if they didn’t want to raise any suspicions that Palpatine might hold, they didn’t want to try and gain his trust immediately through trying to befriend him on the first day, which could end up sending up several red flags.

Instead, they were going to be a bit more sneaky about it.

It made Rey sick to watch the Dark Lord of the Sith sit at a desk of such high honor and, in a sense, command that of the entire galaxy.

Next to that though, Rey found herself thinking about something else that she’d never really thought of before. 

What made Palpatine turn?

Of course, everyone from her time knew who Palpatine was and the atrocities that he’d committed, yet no one seemed to ever really know why. 

Why would someone do such terrible things? To play life like a game, while real people died on both sides, fighting for a cause that they had no true power over.

The people in this war were all simply pawns in a game of neverending chess, as Palpatine sucked value and purpose from their now-made pointless lives.

Sheev Palpatine was a horrible man and at that moment, Rey decided that she didn’t even really care if she never knew what Palpatine’s motives were, because the extent of what he’d done and would continue to do held no room for excuses.

And they never would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	14. Survival of the Fittest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey talk about their day and Palpatine reminisces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

As night fell and the room was enveloped in deep tenebrosity, Ben watched as the man, who had tortured his family for generations, finally rose from his seat and really acknowledged them for the first time.

“I want to thank you both for being such diligent guards, but it really is getting late and I think I shall head out soon. You are both free to go,” Palpatine gave a dismissive wave of his hand and spoke with a kind grandfatherly tone that made Ben sick to his stomach.

While Ben would’ve loved to hang around to separate the Dark Lord’s head from his body, he knew that he couldn’t do that… at least not yet. So with a small nod, he left Palpatine with Rey at his side and together, the two of them disappeared through the door to meet up with Anakin and Ahsoka and go back to the Jedi Temple.

As he walked into his room, Ben instantly fell on his couch and deflated. The day had been a rather stressful and taxing one, to say the least. First, he’d constantly had to keep up the strongest of barriers around his mind, in order to keep up the deception. Then he’d had to stand still for literally hours on end with nothing to do but wait patiently for dismissal and try to collect any evidence he could on Palpatine. Both him and Rey had so far found nothing. Finally and worst of all, he’d had to stand right next to Palpatine, who had ruined the lives of every Skywalker, Organa and Solo for generations… the lives of both his family and himself without the true lasting power to do anything.

To say the least, his day had been akin to torture… no actually scratch that, it had been worse than torture and he’d know, because Snoke had most definetly not been one of the most forgiving of Masters.

Ben sighed, sometimes he just wished that life would cut him a break.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, interrupting his thoughts, as he stood and headed over to get it.

As he turned the knob and pulled open the door, he found himself face to face with Rey, who looked about just as exhausted as he felt. 

Ben moved out of the way allowing her entrance and then shut the door behind her.

“Well, today was terrible,” Rey began, throwing up her hands and stating the obvious, “I mean Palpatine is such a creep. How can someone who’s ended so many lives just sit there at his desk, seemingly at the top of the world, while pretending that everything is fine?” She sighed, “I can’t believe I’m related to him.” 

Rey rested her head in her hands for a moment, before speaking to him once more, “I just hope that we get evidence soon, because I don’t know how much longer I can face that monster without snapping and finishing the job prematurely.”

Ben nodded, “yes, I know Rey. He destroyed the lives of my family for generations,” he sighed, “but he will get what he deserves, Rey. We’ll make sure of it.”

Rey hesitated and a nervous look entered her shining brown gaze. “And what if we fail?”

Ben’s gaze hardened, as determination flowed through his veins.

“We won’t.”

* * *

Sheev Palpatine watched them go with a kind politician's smile on his face, but as soon as the door closed the smile instantaneously disappeared, just as well, and was replaced with something akin to a sneer.

Never before had he felt such raw power.

Not in a Jedi. Not in a Sith.

Not even in Anakin.

The potential of such power made him want to laugh, because the Jedi had unknowingly just given him the best gift he’d ever received.

Those Jedi.

Of course, there was still Anakin, who he’d worked years to slowly adopt into his agenda, but now after seeing such power with more potential than perhaps even Anakin, he decided that perhaps his plan could be altered… or maybe he’d just have to devise a way to see if Anakin was truly the most powerful Jedi of his generation.

Still, Palpatine had to wonder who these Jedi were, for with so much power and potential, he was surprised that he’d never heard of them or even felt their strong presence before. Although, he supposed that then again, it didn’t really matter why, because all that mattered in the end was that he got what he wanted.

Power.

The means by which he got it were insignificant in the grand scheme of things, just as they always had been.

Another thing that he noticed too, was that these particular Jedi had something off about them. For while they were obviously not Sith, he wasn’t entirely sure that they were traditional Jedi either, because their force signatures were odd.

They felt almost… gray, like they were caught in a balance between the light and the dark. Yet, such a thing was something he’d never really heard of before, for while of course there were and had been grey Jedi and grey Sith, there was just something... different about Ben and Rey.

Perhaps, just something that he could further use to his advantage.

As he began to think about how he might go about commencing the alteration in his plan, he found himself thinking back to his Master, Darth Plagueis, wondering what he would do in this situation and to be honest, it really wasn’t too hard to come to a conclusion, because his Master probably would’ve just gone about things the same way as he was starting to plan to.

Death and lots of it, because after all, life was a game that only the most powerful deserved to have the privilege of playing.

Falling deeper into his thoughts, Palpatine thought back to the day that Darth Plagueis had come to him, offering him power beyond his wildest dreams. Power that no one else could’ve ever given him.

As a boy, he’d grown up in a family of rich aristocrats from Naboo, but they were weak, all of him. Plus, his siblings had all despised him and his parents were distant, cold and afraid of him.

Rightly so though, he supposed. 

He was the one who had killed them, after all.

Falling deeper into his thoughts, he remembered one night, when he was a teenager and his parents had been speaking about him in low voices in their bedroom. At the time, he was supposed to be asleep, but he’d always loved to know everything about everyone and what was a better time to do that than after dark, when no one thought that they were being listened to? Eavesdropping was his artform and honestly, it still was, albeit through a slightly different means.

“There’s just something wrong with Sheev, Cosinga,” he could remember his mother telling his father. “Th-There’s just something n-not right,” she began to cry. “I-I’m just afraid… afraid of what could happen.”

“I know,” he’d heard his father whisper back, “me too, but one day I’ll manage to whip enough sense into the boy and then, we’ll have a real son, instead of some interloping and cruel boy.”

And his father had tried to whip some sense into him… quite literally in fact.

He remembered one time, when he’d stolen his father’s credit chip to buy another Sith artifact to add to his collection and upon realizing what had happened, his father had destroyed the ancient artifact upon its delivery and then proceeded to punch him hard across the face, which left him with a stark black eye, before breaking at least two of his ribs after a few kicks to his stomach.

While of course he’d daydreamed of slaughtering his family in the past, it was on that day that he thought of how it’d all go down in vivid detail.

When his raging tempers became unbearable, Sheev remembered how he used to go out into the woods to go find an animal- any animal- and then use his powers, which he would later find out was called the force, to slowly break every bone in their bodies, while their cries of pain only drove him to become more and more angry.

Crying out for help was weak… and the weak had no place in the galaxy.

Palpatine still remembered the day he’d finally snapped and lashed out with his power. He’d been in a vicious argument with his father, when suddenly he’d just felt something within him break.

The next thing he knew, his father was lying on the ground in a pool of his very own blood, while his head appeared to have been caved in, while it laid at an odd angle, partially separated from his body at the neck.

His father, who had been considered fairly handsome his whole life, was left looking utterly grotesque.

It suited the man’s soul, Palpatine had decided at the time.

His mother had screamed in horror, while his siblings had just stood in shock, as they stared at him and the body of the man who they’d once called father.

The youngest of his sisters had been the first one to break free of her shock and he remembered her running at him with deadly intent in her eyes.

So he’d simply raised his hand and suddenly, she was nothing but a pile of broken bones and flesh.

It had made him laugh at the time, because it was honestly so funny that everything could change so fast in an instant.

Still, it was a strange thing though, because in all the books he’d ever read, the hero always felt remorse upon their families death… and yet he felt nothing, except the need to keep destroying and killing, because as he’d learned, it just furthemore proved to him that he was quite obviously, the most powerful being in the galaxy and thus destined to reign over it all one day.

After that, he’d enjoyed himself with the murders of the rest of his family and their guards, as he’d held them all in place with his power and forced them to watch, as one by one he’d ripped every last remaining soul on that ship where it happened to shreds. 

Not with his power… no, but with his bare hands.

It was amazing and their screams seemed to nurture his soul. For after so many years of arguments and being shoved to the side, he was finally able to show them all that he was at the top, while they were all but lowly life forms. 

Expendable.

Darth Plagueis, who he’d met a little while prior to that experience, had ended up covering up the murders for him, which he was indeed grateful for. Still, no one, except of course himself as the hero of his story, could be allowed to live forever.

So he’d killed Plagueis, although he didn’t draw it out and to Palpatine that was what mercy was.

Coming out of his thoughts the Dark Lord of the Sith finally had clarity on what he planned to do, because Anakin had competition now and while he had yet to see these two new Jedi fight with their lightsabers that could be arranged. What was really important though was that their force potential was so amazingly high, same as Anakin’s, and because of that, it was only just that he found a way to eliminate the two weakest of the bunch.

Palpatine only wanted the best.

And so the best was what he would receive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	15. Turning Tides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben, Rey and a totally-not-stalker stalker face off against Asajj Ventress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

A few weeks went by and nothing much changed. Every day, Anakin and Ahsoka would take them to the Senate building and then, they would just stand in place for hours, guarding the Chancellor of the Republic.

_Palpatine._

Every day, Rey found herself yearning more and more to just straight up drop the plan to slowly gain his trust, so that she could just kill him then and there, but then she’d instantly reprimade herself, before reminding herself that murder was not the will of the force.

At least she didn’t think it was.

The sky was finally beginning to darken, which was Palpatine’s cue to stand and take his leave. Yet, this time things appeared to be a bit different, as he appeared more tense than he usually was.

“It’s probably just my old, weary mind,” he began in a sweet old man’s voice that made Rey’s stomach twist in sheer disgust, “ but this morning, I believe that there was someone following me,” the Chancellor paused, “it’s probably nothing, but it is better to be safe than sorry. I live close to here anyways, since my apartment’s in the upper levels of 500 Republica. It’ll be a short ride.”

A large part of Rey just wanted to send Palpatine off on his own and hope that fate would just take care of this vile man for her, but she knew that she couldn’t do that or she’d risk blowing her cover. So with a small nod, both her and Ben followed Palpatine to his speeder with Ben at the wheel.

_It’s so old_ , Ben mouthed to Rey, while Palpatine’s back was turned and she bit back a laugh at his juvenile attitude.

As soon as Ben had received directions on how to get to Palpatine’s apartment, he took off into the busy Coruscanti traffic, as the trio slowly began to make their way towards Palpatine’s apartment.

“It would be so nice to have good traffic for once,” Palpatine remarked with a kind smile, directed towards Rey, “but then again, Coruscant just wouldn’t be the same without all of this.” He gestured to the mass of speeders surrounding them.

While Rey most definitely didn’t feel like having a casual conversion with the Dark Lord of the Sith, she knew that she had to. So, plastering a sweet, fake smile on her face, she nodded, “very true.”

Once more, the trio lapsed into silence, when suddenly Palpatine’s eyes went wide. “Look out!” He yelled to Ben, but already, it was too late. 

A bang sounded through the air from some kind of blaster and suddenly their speeder was going down, into the lower levels of Coruscant.

The marksman had hit the engine.

Rey watched as Ben abandoned the driver’s seat and struggled to make his way into the back, towards Rey and the Chancellor.

“We’re going to have to jump!” He yelled, grabbing the Chancellor. Then, just before the speeder crashed to the ground in a fiery explosion, Ben, keeping Palpatine with him, and Rey leapt from the craft, using the force to slow their dissent.

The citizens of Coruscant screamed and ran from the explosion, while the three made their way back up to their feet. All in all, they mostly had minor injuries with just a couple of cuts and bruises.

Rey reached to grab her comlink, in order to try and contact the Temple, but it appeared to have fallen out during all the chaos.

Ben on the other hand though, still had his, although Rey noticed him frown upon picking it up and inspecting it.

“It’s damaged,” he remarked, “we’re on our own.”

Just then, a figure flipped down from above, before proceeding to approach them with a haunting smile lighting up their face.

It was no one Rey noticed, nor did it seem Ben, because he looked about just as confused as she felt, but Rey could tell upon further inspection that the person standing before her was a female Zabrak. She’d read about them in the ancient Jedi texts.

It was, she had to say, one of the more readable sections.

“Asajj Ventress,” she heard Palpatine speak, his tone seemingly very diplomatic, “what is your business here?”

Ventress paused in her footsteps and Rey fought the urge to roll her eyes, guessing that Palpatine himself had probably invited her here.

“Hello darling,” a cruel smirk lit up her features, “and to answer your question, it appears that today my business is you.” Ventress brought her hands to her belt to unclip two sleek lightsabers, before activating them instantly and seemingly without any hesitation. “This… this is going to be fun.”

From where Rey’s point of view, Ventress stood tall, while the fire from the explosion towered behind her, making her appear like a shadow working to block out the light. Meanwhile, her blood red lightsabers lit up her darkened features, giving her an eery, blood red glow.

Rey pulse quickened, as she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt with Ben doing just the same.

As soon as their white lightsabers lit up, both Palpatine and Ventress’s eyes widened in surprise at the oddity of it with seemingly a million questions shining in their eyes, but that only lasted a few milliseconds, because then Ventress was on them, fast and swift.

Having never fought someone so fast and precise before, Rey did her best to keep up and so it seemed Ben. Still, Rey had grown up on Jakku where she’d had to learn how to quickly adapt to changes and so soon enough she found herself toning down her number of wide swings in favor of smaller and more precise ones.

Ben seemed to have the same idea too and furthermore, he actually seemed to be holding his own pretty well. Then again though, she supposed that he did have much more training than her since he’d trained with Master Luke and begrudgingly, she supposed Snoke too, for so long.

Just as Rey swung up her lightsaber to block a blow that surely would’ve otherwise decapitated her, another shadowy figure dropped in from above, before igniting a blue lightsaber and stalking over to them.

“Ventress,” a man’s voice called out, a man who she quickly realized was Anakin as soon as he stepped into the light provided by the fire.

_Why the kriff is Anakin here?_

She supposed that she could worry about that later, because right now Ventress was a much bigger problem.

The Zabrak woman laughed, “Anakin Skywalker. It’s just so wonderful to see you here. Now, I can have a real challenge.”

Anakin joined the fray, attacking and parrying.

Suddenly, things started to seem to be turning in their favor.

Still, it seemed that things would not remain that way forever, when a sudden cry of pain drove Rey from her feelings of relief, twisting them into horror.

Ventress had slashed through Ben’s chest.

“Ben!” She cried out, to which Ventress simply laughed.

“One down, two to go.”

Through their bond, Rey could feel Ben’s pain and fear, as he fell, dropping his lightsaber. Yet, she was relieved to also discover that the wound wasn’t too deep and therefore not fatal.

Still, knowing that did not calm Rey’s rage.

Probably thinking that Rey was weaker than Anakin, Ventress used the force to force-push Anakin into a stone wall, momentarily knocking him out and leaving Rey to face her one on one.

Wrong choice.

Rey reached out with the force, as she called Ben’s lightsaber to her, anger filling her heart.

“You will pay for what you’ve done,” she whispered, her eyes narrowing with barely concealed rage.

“Yes, trust in your anger,” Ventress hissed back, “just like a good little Jedi.”

With a newfound fury, Rey aggressively struck out with the two blades. In hurting Ben, Ventress had pushed her past the edge and all Rey could see was red.

Quickly, it became very obvious that any control that Ventress might’ve once held over the fight was almost immediately lost and Rey thought she saw a glimmer of fear enter the Zabrak’s eyes. Still even that didn’t stop Rey, as she slashed through the hilt of one of Ventress’s lightsabers, leaving it to sputter and then clatter to the ground, before driving her lightsaber straight through Ventress’s chest and out her back.

For a moment the two women just stared at each other, dark rage glittering in Rey’s eyes and shock in Ventress’s own. Then, with a sudden feeling of horror, Rey realized what she had done and instantly deactivated both of her lightsabers, before leaving them to drop to the dirty ground below, while her rage dissipated into nothingness and she was forcefully shoved back into reality.

A hand went to Rey’s mouth in horror of her misguided actions, as Ventress fell to the ground and began to cough up blood with a look of terror shining through her eyes.

At that moment it became very obvious to everyone there that Ventress was going to die.

Ben, who had finally been able to make his way back to his feet, despite appearing to be in obvious pain, eyed Ventress with surprise highlighting his features. Meanwhile, Anakin, seeming to have finally recovered from his fall, stood and looked from Ventress to Rey in shock, surprised that Rey of all people had been the one to cut Ventress down in such a way.

But then, just before Ventress’s heart completely gave out, Rey remembered something and realized what she had to do. Dropping to the ground, she reached her hand out towards where she’d struck Ventress, who was so out of it that she didn’t even seem to realize what was happening around her. Then, Rey closed her eyes and focused on transferring some of her life force into Ventress. Not too much, but just enough to close the wound and keep her alive.

The transfer of energy was quick and efficient and as she opened her eyes, she noticed Ventress looking at her with a strange look on her face. It was a grand mix of emotion, but the most prominent ones appeared to be confusion and oddly, gratitude.

Bringing herself back to her feet, Rey stood and reached out to help Ventress up, who grimaced in pain, but was still able to make it back to her feet with the help of Rey.

She turned her head around to see everyone else but Ben staring at her in shock.

Finally, Anakin spoke.

“What the actual kriff just happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	16. Dark Days Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Palpatine comes to a conclusion and Anakin and Rey have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Sheev Palpatine was a very difficult man to surprise.

Still, nothing was impossible and if anyone knew that, it was most definitely him, what with all he had witnessed over his many years of life.

Upon seeing Ben and Rey’s white lightsabers, he had been downright shocked. For never before had he seen a lightsaber, or rather _lightsabers_ of such a color. 

It left him wondering what it meant and why they, of all people, had them?

And then the fight had begun.

At first, he was a bit disappointed, upon realizing that while both Ben and Rey weren’t terrible with lightsaber dueling, their technique definitely had a lot of room for improvement and he was sure that Anakin would probably be able to defeat them both pretty quickly. Still though, they seemed to be managing Ventress alright, even though they did appear to be on the losing end.

Then, something else had happened.

Anakin had appeared.

This was also a great surprise to Palpatine, as he had to admit that even he was unsure of the means of Anakin’s appearance.

After all, Palpatine was sure that he had made sure to dispose of Rey’s comlink by pickpocketing it with the force and throwing it off yonder during the crash, while simultaneously crushing the inner workings of Ben’s with the force. Both tasks of which had later been attested to.

So why had Anakin appeared?

He supposed that with time he would probably find out.

Then, a third surprising thing had happened- although this surprise was a good surprise- for after Ventress had disposed of Anakin and wounded Ben enough to ground him for the rest of the battle, Rey had seemingly tapped into the dark side of the force. Most likely due to her attachment to her friend, Ben.

No one had been looking at him and so as soon as Rey tapped into the dark side, Darth Sidious had allowed a satisfied sneer to envelope his face.

_Do it Rey! Kill her!_

He restrained a please laugh, as his potential future apprentice delivered the final blow.

But it wasn’t over yet, because Palpatine then watched as Rey, suddenly seeming to be horrified by her actions, had then almost instantaneously switched back to the light, or rather her interesting grey area that seemed to be somewhere in between, and had healed Ventress, thus saving her from certain death.

Never before had Palpatine seen a Jedi or even a force-user at tha perform such a feat. The only one who he’d ever seen utilizing such grand power was his former Master, Darth Plagueis.

He wanted that power. He needed it, because such a power was one of the only ones that he was seemingly unable to obtain. Alreadly, Palpatine knew that Anakin most definitely did not hold that power, since he had been unable to save his mother and while he was unsure of Ben for that matter, Rey had outlasted him during the fight and thus, he was also off the list. 

There was more to it than that though, because when Rey had tapped into the dark side, he’d suddenly felt something that no matter how much it confused him, wouldn’t go away.

For some odd reason, he felt an odd sort of kinship between Rey and himself. Like they were deeply connected… somehow.

It was at that moment that he finalized his decision that he no longer cared about Anakin or Ben or any other Jedi for that matter.

Damn the consequences.

Rey was going to be his apprentice.

And that was that.

Although, Palpatine remembered that there was still the whole Chosen One prophecy regarding Anakin. For a moment he dwelled upon that and all hope seemed lost, when suddenly he realized something that should’ve been obvious in the first place, since he was Darth Sidious, after all.

He’d simply off Anakin.

Palpatine let out a breath of relief. He sure did overthink things sometimes and killing Anakin surely would be far from impossible, since one of the only reasons that Anakin wasn’t dead yet, was due to Palpatine’s future need for him and thus the Dark Lord of the Sith’s protection. Yet, now that he’d found a superior future apprentice in Rey, Anakin was useless to him.

So yes, Palpatine decided, he’d simply just have to arrange for the murder of Anakin Skywalker.

* * *

After dropping the Chancellor off at his apartment in 500 Republica, the walk back to the Temple had seemed to take an eternity.

The whole way, Rey had been helping Ventress walk, who’d been oddly silent ever since the duel had finished. Then, walking next to her, Anakin was kind enough to help Ben, despite their differences.

Furthermore though, the whole way back, Anakin had not stopped talking, as he’d continuously bombarded her with questions as to how she’d saved Ventress and so much more, barely leaving her any time for a proper response.

Rey did her best to answer his questions, such as telling him she learned how to heal as powerfully as she did from the old Jedi Texts and a bit of improvisation on her part, to which Anakin had wrinkled his nose in disgust, before proclaiming how boring those books were.

While Rey agreed with him on that, for those books most definitely were not page-turners, she wasn’t entirely sure how to reply. So, Rey had simply nodded.

All of their paces quickened upon the Jedi Temple coming into view, except Ventress’s of course, which was pretty understandable, since she was a user of the dark side and thus an enemy of the Jedi.

As soon as Ventress was handed over to a couple other, seemingly surprised, Jedi, who’d volunteered to take her to a holding cell to await trial, Rey turned to Anakin, who was still helping Ben walk.

Poor Ben looked like he was about to pass out from the amount of pain he was in and yet, still stubborn as he was, he hadn’t.

Rey pronounced her next words to Anakin with calm, crisp clarity.

“We’re going to drop off Ben in the Halls of Healing and then, I want to talk to you… alone.”

At first, Anakin appeared to be a bit startled by her directness, but acquiesced to her demand and helped her hand Ben over to a Jedi healer, before turning to her.

“So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?” Anakin’s sharp blue eyes shone with curiosity and she noticed that at least some of the mistrust seemed to have faded. That was definitely an improvement from where things between them had been, so that was nice.

Rey shook her head. “Not here,” she murmured, before gesturing at him to follow her. “Come with me, we’ll talk in my quarters.”

The walk back to her room wasn’t too far and as soon as both she and Anakin entered, she shut the door quietly behind them, before turning her gaze upon Anakin.

“I can teach you more about how I saved Ventress, as I can tell you’re curious, but before we even consider that, I have a question for you,” Rey paused and her eyes stared directly into Anakin’s, “how come you were there when Ventress attacked? Our comlinks were down and we were not close enough to the Jedi Temple for someone to realistically make it in time. So tell me this Master Skywalker,” it felt strange calling someone who wasn’t either Luke or Leia that, “why don’t you trust us?”

Seemingly surprised by the accusation, Anakin was silent for a few moments, while a wild mix of emotions warred across his face. Another thing that Rey had noticed is that upon her calling him “Master,” he’d seemed to stiffen for a moment and looked like he was about to say something for a moment, before deciding against it.

Rey wondered what that was all about, as Anakin finally spoke, moving past whatever trouble he’d just faced.

He did not settle on the emotion that Rey’d been hoping for.

“First off that was two questions, not one,” he said, “but what’s it to you? Sure, I’ve been following you, but only because, if I’m being honest, I don’t trust you or Ben entirely, just like you said. It doesn’t really seem to matter why though, because I was right, as we all saw today with the whole Ventress situation. I was absolutely right in my judgement.”

Rey simply arched a brow, “really? Were you? If I recall correctly, I was the one to defeat Ventress. Not you.”

A look of anger flashed across Anakin’s face, seemingly unfitting for a Jedi, “which you did by tapping into the dark side and almost killing her, if you hadn’t saved her afterwards,” he hissed sharply back.

A look of hurt and regret flashed across Rey’s features, as she took a step back, “perhaps,” she whispered back solemnly, “and while I know that my actions were unjustified, dark, misled and cruel, at least I did the right thing in the end, when it really mattered.”

Slowly, the anger dissipated from Anakin’s face, replaced with something more ponderous.

It really surprised Rey how many blatantly obvious mood swings Anakin had, when he was a _Jedi_ of all things _._

“I know, I know, and I… I’m sorry,” Anakin replied softly back, surprising Rey. “You did do a remarkable thing in defeating Ventress, it’s just, the Chancellor almost died today and I… well I consider him a…” Anakin paused, “I consider Chancellor Palpatine a friend. I’m sure you understand with how close you seem to be with Ben. So, I suppose that I just find it hard to trust him with the likes of Ben and yourself. Two people I barely even know and who we first discovered thieving,” Anakin sighed, “you must understand my reservations, regarding trusting both you and Ben… still, I know deep down that your hearts seem to be in the right place. At least the force tells me so. Plus, Obi-Wan also did tell me to at least try to give you both a chance,” Anakin smirked, as he seemingly brought up the memory in his head, “and in fighting Ventress, you even managed to use quick-thinking and mercy, when things got intense. So… I suppose that some of my harsh judgements could be unfounded. Perhaps… perhaps we can start over.”

While she was grateful that she’d received an apology, part of Rey wondered if it was only because Anakin wanted to obtain her power of healing for his own selfish reasons. Still, this was a grand improvement and they needed Anakin on their side. So no matter the reason as to why Anakin had had a sudden change of heart, Rey supposed that it wouldn’t hurt to just accept it and move on.

“Alright,” Rey slowly nodded, “and I can try to help teach you, but right now I’m exhausted and I want to check up on Ben. So perhaps,” she paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, “perhaps, I can help teach you tomorrow after I get back from guarding the Chancellor.”

A smile blossomed across Anakin’s face, as he gave her a sound nod.

“Deal.”

Then they parted ways, with Anakin heading off to his room and Rey heading off to go check up on Ben.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.
> 
> Hopefully, you all are doing well in the midst of this pretty much worldwide quarantine. <33


	17. The Power of Life and Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey talk, while Anakin and Obi-Wan do the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

As Rey made her way to the Halls of Healing, a deep anxiety pooled in her gut. While she could of course easily tell that Ben was well enough to make it through their bond, he still could’ve easily died if the blow had been just a bit deeper or even a bit higher, and the thought of losing Ben terrified her to the depths of her core.

Upon finally finding his room, Rey briskly made her way in, before shutting the door behind herself. Almost instantly, her eyes fell upon Ben, as she worked to assess his current state.

He was on a soft-looking white medical bed, wearing unfamiliar white robes. His eyes were closed in a peaceful sleep and not wanting to wake him, Rey quietly made her way to a chair at his bedside, in order to watch over him while he slept.

Reaching out a tentative hand, Rey slowly clasped Ben’s own in hers, while she contentedly watched the rise and fall of his chest. The monitors beeped in a thankfully steady rhythm.

A couple minutes passed and Ben still didn’t wake up, so slowly Rey found herself spewing out her feelings to him.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough to save you,” she breathed, whisper-quiet, “it was just all so overwhelming. I’ve never fought someone so fast and precise before, it just caught me off guard and could have cost you everything.” Rey sighed, “I’m so sorry, Ben, truly I am,” for a brief moment Rey paused, lost in her thoughts before continuing, “Although, I know if you were awake you would assure me that what happened was not even close to my fault and I suppose I would acquiesce eventually, but still… it’s just the thought of losing you, Ben… it just terrifies me to no end,” a shaky breath left her, “it’s just I’ve already lost both of my parents, Han, Master Luke, Master Leia, and I suppose Finn, Poe, BB-8, Rose and everyone else from our time, just as well,” Rey’s eyes fell to her feet, “You’re all I have left, Ben. I can’t lose you too. I won’t.”

“Well, that’s reassuring, because I don’t exactly plan on dying anytime soon,” a familiar, yet seemingly exhausted, voice quipped and Rey’s eyes rose to meet Ben’s browns. He shot her grin, before his voice turned serious and his gaze took on a somber light, leaving Rey to wonder how much he’d heard. Apparently enough, judging by his next words.

“You can’t blame yourself for my current condition though, Rey,” Ben sighed, “that woman- Ventress- was an incredibly fast and skilled fighter. We were just simply unprepared and there was nothing that you could have ever done to stop that blow. It was simply inevitable, Rey. Simply inevitable,” Ben paused for a moment, as he seemingly worked to take on a more uplighting mood, “no matter though about all of that, because you were able to defeat Ventress… although I am a bit concerned about The Force healing that you performed, because you almost certainly have Palpatine’s attention now and while that is what we wanted in the first place, I suppose… it feels somewhat dangerous to have captured his attention in such a manner… a manner that he’ll surely want to utilize.”

Ignoring Ben’s protests to free her from responsibility on his current condition, Rey focused more on the second part of what he said.

“I know,” Rey sighed, “I’ve been thinking about that and while that, if I’m being honest, does scare me a little bit, we need to get closer to Palpatine. So, if he’s enamored by my healing skills, then so be it. We have to… no, we  _ need  _ to do whatever it takes to stop the Empire from rising, because the Empire is what caused the chain reaction of terrible events that we both lived through. The Force… or whatever, has given us a chance to change things for the better and so that is what we are going to do.”

Ben seemed hesitant, still seemingly uncertain about the entire situation that Rey had managed to land herself in, but then slowly, he nodded, excepting Rey’s judgement, at least for the moment.

“I just wish you didn’t have to go see him alone tomorrow,” Ben sighed, “I mean with my current condition, it might take me a few days to actually be cleared to go back.”

Rey felt his concerned gaze fall over her, so she smiled softly in an attempt to reassure him that everything would be alright.

“I’ll be okay, Ben, what’s a few days anyways? So please, don’t worry about me. I’m going to be  _ fine _ .”

“Famous last words,” Ben joked, earning him a delicate, playful swat upon his arm. Then, he was all back to being serious once more, “but truly, Rey, please stay safe. You aren’t the only one with your aforementioned sentiments, because I truly don’t think that I can handle losing you either… as we both know.”

An image of Ben lying dead on the cold ground of Exegol flashed through her mind, but Rey forced the image away almost as soon as she remembered it. It was much too painful a memory for her to ever want to return to, so she just smiled solemnly, as she gave Ben’s hand a small, but reassuring squeeze, “everything will turn out alright in the end, Ben. I know it will and Ben… I promise I’ll never leave you again, so long as you hold the same sentiments.”

A smile crinkled at the edge of his lips, “I promise.”

Soon after, Ben drifted off into sleep once more with Rey soon following in her respective chair.

* * *

At first Anakin was going to just head straight back to his room, but at the last minute, he found himself having a sudden change of heart and instead found himself plodding off in the direction of Obi-Wan’s room.

Upon reaching his former Master’s quarters, Anakin gave a couple loud knocks, before waiting for the eventual opening of the door.

Soon enough, Obi-Wan appeared, blinking blearily at his former Padawan.

“Anakin, it’s the middle of the night. What are you doing here?” He scolded, but still allowed Anakin entry to which Anakin happily obliged.

“It’s not like you were actually sleeping anyways, old man,” Anakin quipped back to which Obi-Wan grumbled something under his breath about something to the effect of still being in his thirties and thus obviously not yet qualifying as an “old man.”

“Anyways,” Anakin continued, “I thought that you might like to know that Asajj Ventress was captured and is currently awaiting trial in one of the holding cells in the Temple.”

At this, Obi-Wan perked up and his eyes widened, suddenly seeming very interested by this stark change of events. “And who was the Jedi who captured her?” He asked, as he made his way to a couch with Anakin hot on his heels.

“Well actually,” Anakin began, “that’s exactly what I want to talk to you about.”

Obi-Wan raised a single brow, but said nothing in favor of letting Anakin tell the story.

It took several minutes for Anakin to explain and by the end of his tale, Obi-Wan found himself feeling rather astonished.

“So, the girl- Rey- she stopped Ventress from succumbing to certain death with nothing but The Force itself?” A ponderous look had overtaken Obi-Wan’s face, as he fell deep into his thoughts. “How is that even possible?”

Anakin shrugged, “I honestly have no clue. Of course, I know that The Force does obviously have some healing capabilities, but I’ve never seen or even heard of anyone using it to that extent.”

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, still bewildered by Rey’s power, “neither have I.”

For a moment, a thoughtful silence fell between the two, before Anakin finally spoke once more.

“I got Rey to agree to teach me how to do it,” Anakin blurted out, “she’s going to start teaching me tomorrow. Perhaps… perhaps you could come to, if you’d like.”

Obi-Wan continued to remain silent for several more moments, before finally speaking himself. “Are you sure that this is a skill that we learn though Anakin? Truly?” His former Master paused, as if collecting his thoughts, “for in preventing someone from certain death, wouldn’t that be going against the will of The Force and thus, the Jedi Code at that? This seems like it could be a very dangerous power, Anakin. I mean, it allows you to basically play God! Death should be the hands of The Force Anakin, not people. We’d simply abuse it.”

While Obi-Wan was the famed Negotiator, Anakin was not easily deterred, as he quickly came up with a retort, “and how do you know that learning such a power would go against the will of The Force, Obi-Wan? If this power is possible, perhaps it is rather a gift bestowed upon us from The Force. When Rey used it, I could feel no traces of the dark side within her in that action, only the light. She had good intentions when she used it and so, I think we should learn how to utilize it ourselves,” Anakin paused, “plus, if anything goes wrong, we can always back out and deal with it accordingly. It might even help our potential case, if it comes to that, in knowing how it works.”

Still seeming hesitant, Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably. Yet, eventually he acquiesced to Anakin’s pestering with a curt nod, obviously realizing that Anakin wouldn’t stop pestering him until he did so.

“Alright,” Obi-Wan sighed, “I suppose it won’t hurt, but Anakin,” his voice lowered, “if anything goes awry and I mean  _ anything _ , in relation to this power. We will discontinue pursuing it and then deal with it accordingly, just like you said. Understand?”

Obi-Wan cerulean blue eyes bore intensely into Anakin, before he finally spoke.

“Of course I understand.”

“Good.”

Anakin would be the greatest Jedi who ever lived, of that he would make certain of, and now he’d finally be able to learn how to even stop people from dying.

It was just like he once swore, months ago now, to Padmé and it was a promise that he intended to keep.

No matter the cost, he needed to learn how to do this.

Anakin Skywalker needed to be the most powerful Jedi ever.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	18. Invitation of Spiraling Uncertainties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Palpatine starts to set the stage for his new plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Rey woke with a start to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings, when suddenly the events of the previous day came flooding back to her.

Her soft brown gaze fell upon Ben, who was fast asleep with adorable little snores escaping him every now and then. To see him like this, looking so peaceful, content and carefree without the burdens of the world upon his shoulders was a sight that she wished that she could lay her eyes on forever. Yet, Rey knew that that just simply wasn’t possible. She had responsibilities and duties… to go guard and keep an eye on Palpatine.

That murderous snake.

So, with one last look at Ben, Rey forced herself to her feet, before quietly opening and then, closing the door behind her, as to not accidentally pull Ben from his peaceful sleep.

Anakin and Ahsoka were already waiting for her at the exit to leave the Temple, so she sped up her pace, as to not hold them up much longer.

The walk to the Senate building was surprisingly pleasant. Anakin who normally grilled her in a full-out interrogation mode the whole way over, was actually being surprisingly friendly, as he just chatted with her about this and that, along with thanking her countless times for agreeing to teach him how to do her healing ability from the previous night. 

The whole time Ahsoka just stared at them perplexed, as if trying to figure out how the whole dynamic of their relationship had changed so drastically, seemingly overnight.

Upon finally reaching the Senate building, Rey bid the two Jedi farewell, while silently hoping that Anakin would now be so kind as to not stalk her, before heading off towards the Chancellor’s office. It took her about 5 standard minutes and then, she was there. 

Ready to go in.

For a moment, hesitation filled her, because honestly, without Ben at her side, the notion of being face to face with Palpatine filled her with dread. Still, she knew that this was something that she had to do. For the galaxy and everyone in it. Plus, Rey knew that she didn’t have much of a choice after all, because if she wanted to do what was right, then she’d open the door and “guard” Palpatine.

Simple as that.

So, pulling her shields as tight as she could around her mind, Rey opened the door and strolled into the Chancellor’s office, any prior fear or uncertainty now wiped from her face.

“Good morning, Chancellor Palpatine,” she greeted him warmly, a pleasant smile resting upon her face.

“Good morning to you too, Master Rey,” the Chancellor greeted back with a smile reflecting her own.

Briefly, Rey watched as his gaze flickered to the empty space next to her, before flicking back to her gaze, “it’s a quite the pity that Master Solo isn’t here,” the Chancellor sighed, before giving a small pause, “is he at least on his way to recovery?”

Never before had Rey maintained a conversation this long with the Chancellor, as she took her place besides his desk. Part of her brimmed with pride at how far they’d come, but another part of her found herself put off by Palpatine’s question, because it left her drifting off into dark thoughts, as she wondered why he was asking and what he wanted her to say.

Rey answered with the truth, “yes Chancellor, he’s currently in recovery and should be active again within a few days.”

The Dark Lord of the Sith gave a small nod of his head, “good… good. I am happy to hear it.”

“As am I.”

A couple of hours passed with the two locked in their usual silence until Palpatine finally spoke once more, turning to her.

“I must say, my dear,” Rey had to physically stop herself from cringing at the endearment, “that I was quite impressed by your feat against Asajj Ventress yesterday. I found it quite… inspiring,” Palpatine spoke with a politician’s smile, leaving Rey feeling unsure of the situation and what exactly Palpatine meant by “inspiring.” “However,” Palpatine continued, “never before have I seen or even heard of white lightsabers or a Jedi being able to heal with the force to the extent that you did. I am just truly left in awe by the ability of your power.”

At the mention of her incredible power that she now realized that Palpatine had most definitely picked up on, Rey felt a chill go up through her spine.

Still, Palpatine wasn’t done yet.

“You and your Jedi companions saved my life, Rey… may I call you Rey?” Not wanting to deter the mission from its course, Rey just gave a small nod of acceptance. “Yet, most of all, you were the one to save my life. In the face of adversary, you were the last one standing and able to take charge, even when the probability of success was slim,” Palpatine paused for a moment, as if sorting through his many thoughts, “so, because of this I wanted to thank you and invite you to the join me at the Galaxies Opera House tomorrow night to see ‘Fallen From Grace.’ It’ll be on me and I must say that it is quite honestly, a breath-taking performance,” the Chancellor’s eyes fell upon her curiously, as he awaited her response.

Unsure of what angle Palpatine was trying to play, Rey found herself digging through every nook and cranny of her brain trying to figure it out. Still, while she was sure it was most definitely nothing good, Rey couldn’t pinpoint Palpatine’s exact motives… at least not yet. For while Rey knew what Palpatine had witnessed the previous night, what with Rey’s powerful healing ability and how that must’ve easily fueled his desire to build up a stronger connection with her. Still, she found herself confused as to why she was the only one going to the Opera House with him, for if any Jedi were to be given the offer to go with him, she’d expect it to be Anakin. After all, he was arguably the closest of the Jedi to the Chancellor, as told by the history of Rey’s time, along with how Anakin had literally been stalking her to make sure that she didn’t have bad intentions, regarding keeping Palpatine safe. Although, arguably she supposed that Anakin truly did have reason to believe that she might have bad intentions with her current position at the Chancellor’s side… since she most certainly did. Though Rey hoped that at least in this stage in his life, Anakin would be able to see things from her point of view, if he knew what Palpatine had done and planned to continue to do.

One could only hope

“Of course Chancellor,” she told him with a kind smile, “I’d be honored.”

“Wonderful,” Palpatine replied rather cheerfully, “I am delighted by the news,” he then paused momentarily, “we shall head out tomorrow evening, straight from my office.”

With a brisk nod from Rey and another mutterance of thanks, the two fell back into silence, once more, as the day proceeded, leaving Rey with little to do but fall into her thoughts, which were not a fun place at the moment, as they fell, tainted with darkness and foreboding, surrounding all the possibilities of what the next day could bring.

Eventually hours passed and nightfall came.

Happy to finally be able to move her legs again, Rey made her way to the door, just as Palpatine stood and dismissed her for the night with a silent wave of his hand.

Anakin and Ahsoka were already there waiting for her, just like earlier that morning. Although this time, Anakin appeared to have the energy of a three year old child, as he eyed her with barely concealed anticipation.

“Are you still up for that lesson?” He asked her, as he continued to shine with energy, while they made their way out.

“Of course,” Rey replied simply to which Anakin smiled brightly.

“Great!” He exclaimed.

Finally, seemingly done with being left in the dark, Ahsoka raised her voice and joined the conversation.

“What is it that you are teaching my Master, Master Rey?” The young Togruta asked her, while her wide blue eyes bore into her own, brimming with curiosity.

Rey opened her mouth to explain, but before she could even utter a sound, Anakin dove in, answering for her, as he worked to explain the events of the previous night and Rey’s mysterious healing ability that had managed to bring Ventress back from imminent death.

By the time Anakin had managed to finish, they had just arrived back at the Jedi Temple.

Ahsoka simply stared up at Rey in amazement.

“Wow, you managed to do that, Master Rey? That’s incredible, I’ve never seen or even heard of anyone else doing that,” Ahsoka told her in awe with almost the exact same cookie-cutter phrasing that Rey had heard from pretty much everyone else upon hearing about the events of the duel.

“Thank you Ahsoka,” she told the Padawan with a small smile, before turning her attention back to fully resting upon Anakin, as they reentered the Temple halls.

“Now,” Rey began, “should we get to the lesson?”

Anakin nodded, as the excitement in his eyes seemed to heighten, if that was even possible. She’d noticed that for a Jedi, he really wasn’t all that good at hiding his emotions. Then quickly, as he was very eager for their lesson, Anakin dismissed Ahsoka back to their quarters, before suddenly, his eyes widened as he seemed to remember something.

“Oh umm, Rey, I forgot to tell you, but umm would it be alright if Obi-Wan joined us?” A hopeful look entered his eyes, as he awaited her response.

Seeing no harm in it, Rey simply nodded, accepting Anakin’s request, despite wishing that he’d told her of his intentions to have Obi-Wan join them a bit sooner.

“Great!” Anakin happily shot back. “Here, come with me. I’ll lead you to his quarters and then we can go from there.” So with a quick pivot of his feet, Anakin marched off in what Rey assumed was the direction of Obi-Wan’s rooms, while she rushed after him in hot pursuit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	19. To Live or To Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey starts trying to teach Anakin and Obi-Wan how to do the Force Heal and Cad Bane gets hired to carry out a risky job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

It didn’t take long for Obi-Wan to answer the door. For almost as soon as Anakin’s knock reverberated against the frame, the red-haired Jedi pushed open the door and invited them both inside with the offer of tea.

While Anakin declined, Rey ended up accepting Obi-Wan’s most generous offer and watched as he proceeded to disappear into his kitchenette.

After a couple minutes, Obi-Wan returned with the tea and they were ready to begin.

“So,” Rey began, “before I teach you how to use such a method of healing through the force, I just want you both to know that it took me quite a while to actually figure out how to do it myself. So, don’t be surprised or disheartened, if you can’t do it at first,” she encouraged.

“Where did you learn this ability?” Obi-Wan inquired and for a moment, Rey gave pause, as she worked to come up with a satisfactory answer.

“From some ancient Jedi texts and a bit of improvisation” her gaze dropped, “you have to know how to adapt where I’m from.”

Although he seemed intrigued by her answer, Obi-Wan, unlike Anakin, didn’t pry anymore. Instead, he seemed to be able to sense that she didn’t want to talk about it and so, he respected her boundaries.

“So basically how it works,” Rey began again, “is you take pieces of your own life force and push it into others who need it. It’s only limitations are that it’s very taxing and you can’t use it on yourself.”

Anakin seemed to ponder this, “can it bring back the dead?”

Rey watched as Obi-Wan shot his former Padawan a look of surprise for asking such a question, before settling back into his cool, calm façade. Then, her stomach twisted, as she worked on coming up with a response for Anakin.

She thought of Ben. Remembering how he had sacrificed himself for her on a day that now seemed so long ago and yet was still so fresh in her memory.

She remembered what it had done to him.

Ben had just been so cold, lifeless and still. His bounds of energy, his loyally protective nature… his laugh, which she’d only just heard for the first time ever that day, and everything else that had made Ben Solo, Ben Solo, were just gone.

Quick as that.

“Rey? Rey, are you alright?”

Realizing that she’d been lost in her head for a couple moments too long there, Rey jolted back into reality to see both Anakin and Obi-Wan shooting her worried looks.

She did her best to pay them no heed.

“Yes, it is possible to bring back the dead with this power,” she began once more, ignoring the inquiry on her current state of mind, “however, it’s very taxing, so if you do do such a thing there is a very high likelihood that it’ll probably kill you.” 

A silence fell over the room and Rey did her best to remind herself that Ben was here now and no longer just that dead body on the cold hard ground of Exegol. 

Everything was okay now and would continue to be.

Finally, Anakin spoke, effectively breaking the silence, “you know someone who died, because of it then, don’t you? That’s why you drifted off,” Anakin murmured, almost like he was more so talking to himself more than anyone.

Obi-Wan momentarily gaped at his friend, before chiding him, “Anakin! You can’t just pry into other people’s lives.”

“Well, I’m right, aren’t I?”

Rey did not much like the direction that the conversation was taking. This was her life that they were arguing about and a dark part of her life at that. Anakin had no right to ask that question and she even kind of wished that Obi-Wan hadn’t even moved to get involved either, despite him seemingly attempting to rescue her from having to answer Anakin’s terrible question in the first place.

A mix of emotions, including anguish, anger and annoyance swam through her. Still, no darkness surrounded her, for Rey felt these emotions without any holding any true hatred within her. Still, not being one with the dark side didn’t prevent her from snapping back, fueled by her emotions.

Rey’s now steely gaze turned to meet Anakin’s sharply. “Yes,” she hissed, “someone very close to me died saving me after someone who should’ve been my fam-” Rey stopped herself dead in her tracks, realizing what she’d almost given away, “after I’d been killed… in an effort to save them. So, I wouldn’t much like to talk about it, if you’d just like to happily concede and move on.”

Her gaze flickered between the two Jedi to see them both eyeing her with apologetic expressions, but also a small flicker of curiosity.

While Obi-Wan remained respectful of her wishes, Anakin, seemingly paying no heed to Rey’s previous words, continued to let his curiosity get the better of him and thus, continued to pry into her life. “You died and came back?” Anakin whispered thoughtfully, eyeing her with wonderment, before suddenly he seemed to remember that she didn’t want to go over this anymore, making him look downcast and apologetic, “sorry.”

“Yes,” Rey snapped, “and thank you,” the young force-user sighed, “let’s just move on.” Her gaze flickered between the two, “I’m going to let you learn the way that I did,” she paused, “by practicing with scars. It’s the easiest way to start, from what I’m aware and I’m sure you both have enough, what with the Clone Wars anyways.

“So,” Anakin began, deep in thought, “I can get rid of this?” He gestured to the scar that swooped down over his right eye.

Rey simply nodded, “although it’ll be Obi-Wan who will have to do it.”

Obi-Wan himself had rolled up his sleeve, revealing a fairly new seeming scar curving over his arm. “I suppose I’d be fine parting with this,” he remarked.

Glad it hadn’t taken them too long to figure things out, Rey spoke once more, “who’d like to go first?”

Within seconds, Anakin had exclaimed that he’d like to start, as he reached his hand out tentatively, before touching Obi-Wan's arm.

He turned to Rey, “so, how exactly do I transfer life force?” Confusion wrinkled across his handsome features.

“Just fall into a meditative state,” Rey curiously eyed Obi-Wan as he almost seemed to momentarily hide laughter at the notion of Anakin being forced to fall into a meditative state, “and then imagine carefully tearing away a piece of yourself… but not too much, only a sliver, and giving it to Obi-Wan, while simultaneously focusing on what you want to heal. In this case, the scar.”

Rey watched as Anakin’s sky blue gaze filled with determination, before he slipped into a meditative state, seemingly working on trying to follow Rey’s directions.

Several minutes went by and finally, seeming agitated, Anakin opened his eyes once more, his shoulders incredibly tense. “This isn’t working,” he pouted, “I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.”

Rey found this statement pretty odd, because to her, it was perfectly obvious.

“You’re not relaxed,” she pointed out with a shrug, “it’ll only work if you relax.”

Again, Anakin tried and again, to no avail. He simply sighed, seeming to give up for the moment, as he fell out of his meditative state and his eyes flickered to his former Master. “I suppose you could try giving it a shot Obi-Wan,” he sighed, before suddenly his eyes turned more playful, “although if I can’t do it yet, then I highly doubt you can, old man.”

Rey watched the banter amusedly, as Obi-Wan simply rose a brow, before pressing his fingers lightly against Anakin’s own arm and slipping into a meditative state of his own, as he seemingly worked to follow Rey’s directions, just like Anakin had already tried to.

While Rey could tell that Obi-Wan was the much more relaxed one out of the two, several minutes still went by with nothing to show for his efforts, just like how it’d gone for Anakin. Finally, he opened his eyes with a sigh,

“Well, this is much harder than I expected it to be.”

This went on for another couple of hours with Anakin and Obi-Wan each taking turns in their respective attempts to figure out how to do the Force Heal that Rey had instructed them on.

Finally, as Rey found her eyes starting to droop, she decided to call it a night. So with a few quick goodbyes and a promise of a repeat sometime later that week, Rey disappeared down the hallway, as she made her way back to her own room.

* * *

Count Dooku observed the man that his Master wanted him to hire. He was a Duro with cerulean blue skin and perceptive red eyes. Cad Bane, his Master had called him.

It took everything in Dooku to prevent him from wrinkling his nose in disgust. Bounty hunters were such lowly beings, after all, as they seemed to scavenge for work every day like pesky little beggars with no allegiance to light their way. To Dooku, they were simply scum of the galaxy. Not that he would tell this one that though, because the job still needed to be done.

However… Dooku decided that he would rather enjoy removing this bounty hunter’s head from his body if he so failed. Then again, the Count decided that he’d probably kill the bounty hunter anyways, no matter the outcome. After all, he had to tie up all loose ends.

“I’m hiring you to eliminate a target,” the Count began, “and since you claim to ‘specialize in Jedi,’ the Jedi that I wish for you to eliminate is named Anakin Skywalker.” 

Dooku showed Bane a hologram of the Skywalker’s appearance.

The bounty hunter nodded, his expression hungry. “Of course Count, I would be honored to carry out such a task.”

“Good, because I very much doubt that you’d like to pay the high price of failure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	20. Darth Sidious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chancellor Palpatine takes Rey out to dinner before their scheduled viewing of “Fallen From Grace” at Galaxies Opera House.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Time was going way too fast for Rey’s liking.

Today was the day that she was to go to the Galaxies Opera House with Palpatine to see “Fallen From Grace.” Thus, this would mean that she would be with Palpatine. 

Alone. 

In a dark theater.

None of that sounded good.

Rey watched with mixed emotions churning in her gut, as the sun slowly started to set over Coruscant’s crystal sky, leaving red, orange and yellow tendrils to snake their way up into the blue, in the first phase of engulfing all of Coruscant in darkness.

A flicker of movement started in the corner of Rey’s eye, leading her to turn her gaze to center it on Palpatine, who was just leaving his seat.

Rey tightened the shields around her mind, so that he wouldn’t feel the deep rooted fear now coursing through her that she worked desperately to release into the force. For while she’d already defeated Palpatine once that didn’t make him any less frightening, no matter what who he was pretending to be.

Suffice to say, she was not looking forward to this night alone with him.

Eyes as blue as a man choking on his own tongue settled on her gaze and the Dark Lord of the Sith sent her his signature politician’s smile.

“My dear, Rey,” he began kindly, leaving Rey to forcibly repress a shiver, “before we go, I thought you might want to put on something more…” the politician laughed, “you know… something more suited for an Opera House.” An odd feeling curled in Rey’s gut as she found herself liking less and less the direction that this conversation was going. “So, I had a wonderful dress brought in for you. I thought you might prefer it over…” Palpatine paused, gesturing to her attire, “over this.”

Rey had a million- no, a trillion things that she wanted to say to him, yet none of them were things that she could say out loud without risking everything her and Ben had worked for thus far.

Sidenote… she probably should’ve told Ben about this. Then again, the last thing Rey wanted to do was worry him in his current state. She would just have to tell him later, after all of this madness was over.

“I am flattered by your most generous offer,” Rey forced herself to say with some trouble, hoping that it didn’t show too much in her voice, “that is so very kind of you.”

Luckily, Palpatine didn’t seem to notice her inner struggle, at least outwardly, as he held his practiced smile. “Excellent. Then I shall have one of my servants lead you to a room to get changed.”

Completely uncomfortable with everything that was happening, Rey kept a forced smile on her face and nodded, as a young servant walked into the room, holding a folded red and black dress, alongside a pair of stilted black heels, in their hands. At the sight of such colors, the colors of the Sith, Rey’s smile faltered. Though, she was quick to bring the smile back up upon her face, thankful that Palpatine hadn’t had his eyes on her at the moment of her slip.

“Thank you,” Rey told them, before bundling the dress and the shoes up in her arms. Then, she followed Palpatine’s servant down a few hallways, before they finally came upon a door leading into a small room.

The room itself was bathed in red and black hues, just like the outfit, ironically. A high arching ceiling curved up above, painted with what seemed to depict a smaller scale representation of a portion of the galaxy. Meanwhile, warm firelight danced in a fireplace in the corner of the room.

“I’ll be just outside Miss,” the servant promised, before shutting the door and leaving Rey alone with the dress, the shoes and her very own thoughts.

As soon as Rey had put the dress, and heels on, she work to study the intricate patchwork of the dress in a mirror that hung casually on the wall, not only because she was looking to procrastinate the inevitable of going out at night, alone with Palpatine, to the Opera, but also just to study it’s design and the thought put into it.

The dress’s basic form was made of a startling blood red fabric, while lacey black threads ran down in rivulets from her neckline to her waist, all collecting in the center. Once there, the black lace spread around her center, thus exposing a small portion of her waist, before the red silk-like fabric of the dress returned and spread out in waves like a twisted red plom bloom. The sleeves of the dress were wide and actually rather heavy to her surprise, as when Rey had been carrying the dress, she’d perceived it as being rather light. The reality was rather startling.

Next to all of that though, the dress did luckily have a wonderfully well hidden pocket for her lightsaber and so she quickly stashed it there, all the while hoping that tonight would not be a night in which she had to use it. For Palpatine was most definitely not someone that she felt she could go up against alone, especially now that he was probably much more powerful than the state that Rey had previously found him in, in her own timeline. Still more than that though, she wanted Ben to be at her side to help her face any more adversaries that came their way, because it honestly just felt wrong to face the world without him by her side.

With all of that in mind, Rey sighed, before folding her clothes and leaving them on a small padded chair to return for them later. Then, she made her way towards the door and furthermore, towards Palpatine.

The young servant was still waiting for her at the door and gave Rey a kind smile upon her return. 

“You look wonderful, my Lady,” they complemented, as their kind auburn eyes flickered over the black and red dress.

“Thank you…” Rey paused, “what is your name, if I might ask?”

“Oh,” they startled, seemingly surprised by the question, before collecting themself, “my name is Alii Sen, Miss.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Alii Sen,” Rey replied with a kind smile, “I'm Rey.”

“It’s nice to meet you, just as well, Miss Re-”

Rey cut Alii off, “it’s alright, you can just call me Rey,” she offered.

“Rey,” Alii spoke softly, as if testing out the name on their tongue, “I’m happy to make your acquaintance.”

Rey felt bad that a person of such a kind heart had to be commanded around by a man who’s own was born of darkness. For a moment, Rey found herself wondering what happened to the servant, after The Empire was instated, but then pushed that to the back of her mind, telling herself that it hardly mattered now what had happened, because she and Ben were going to change everything.

All of it.

The walk back to Palpatine’s office was faster than Rey would’ve liked, as Alii pushed open the door to reveal the Chancellor staring out of one of his many office windows and down into the lower levels of Coruscant. Upon hearing their reentry though, the Dark Lord of the Sith was rather quick to turn and assess Rey, while the servant took their leave, effectively leaving Rey and Palpatine alone.

“I must say, you look quite stunning,” the Chancellor said in a probable attempt to flatter her, “now come with me, I have dinner reservations for us at Zothique before the show and we have a driver scheduled for us, for the night.

Sure enough, as Palpatine led her out of his office and down towards the streets, a powerfully built Twi’lek appeared and began leading them towards their ship.

The craft they were using to get around was a speeder, however upon even first inspection Rey could tell almost instantaneously that it was no ordinary speeder. Painted in a sleek coat of black and red, just like her dress, it had a very advanced looking frame and by the looks of it, an equally powerful engine.

Judging from her few conversations with Anakin surrounding technology, she was sure that he would most definitely be jealous.

Again, Rey found herself wondering why he was not here with her or even in her place, for that matter. They’d been losing against Ventress, after all, until he’d showed up. Plus, he was the one that Palpatine was trying to coerce to the dark side according to the history of her time.

So what angle was Palpatine playing at?

Working hard to continue suppressing her emotions, as to hide them from Palpatine, Rey forced herself into the speeder, thus closing off any chance of escaping all the terrible things that the night was sure to have in store.

It took about 30 standard minutes to get to the restaurant, which actually wasn’t too bad in Rey’s opinion. Still, being forced to talk to Palpatine had not been fun, though luckily they’d only discussed casual topics, as he seemed to be saving the deeper ones for later. That was something that Rey was most definitely not looking forward to.

Upon their arrival, Palpatine was the first one to step off the craft, before holding out his hand and shooting her a charming smile. While Rey would’ve loved nothing more than to have slapped that smile off his face, she knew that she couldn’t do that and so, she resigned herself to taking the horrible man’s hand, as he led her down to the ground below.

Then, with one last fleeting glance towards the ship and their driver, the only two things that had stood in the way of her and Palpatine, she followed the Chancellor into the restaurant, Zothique, back straight and head held high, in order to try and exude confidence that she currently did not entirely have. 

After all, fake it until you make it.

As they entered the building, Rey found herself surprised by the sheer expensive sheen that it had on it. All in all, the whole place looked like it cost near a billion credits, if not more. It was startlingly beautiful and at that moment, Rey found herself wishing that she was there with Ben rather than Palpatine, since the Dark Lord of the Sith was most definitely tainting the sheer beauty of the restaurant for her.

Soon enough, a waitress spotted them and made haste to lead them to their seats, before setting them up with menus.

So, just like that, Rey found herself in a big fancy restaurant, about to order what was probably bound to be a very expensive dinner, while sitting across from the one and only Dark Lord of the Sith.

The complexity of it almost made her laugh.

“Have you ever been to this establishment before, Chancellor?” Rey inquired, after deciding that she should probably start working to try to at least initiate some of their conversations, since trust could only work if it went both ways. Then again, Rey doubted that someone of Palpatine’s nature would ever trust anyone. Still, it was the effort that counted.

“On a couple of occasions,” Palpatine replied, as his eyes flickered through the menu, “mostly for business matters though, sadly enough.” The man paused, “though I must say that the food here is quite delectable, albeit expensive. Yet, for a man of my stature the price of the meal is nothing, so feel free to get whatever you’d like, dear Rey. It will be simple enough for me to pay for it. After all, I find that quality is always more important than the price” the Chancellor shot her a wink, which only served to increase Rey’s feelings of uncomfortability. The double meaning behind his last statement did not fall flat on her.

Rey just gave him a small nod of thanks and affirmation, before turning her total attention back to the menu and its contents, as she worked to decide what sounded good. It took her some time, because there were a lot of options, but finally she decided on Sushi.

Almost as if on cue, as soon as Rey had decided upon her meal, the waitress from earlier had returned, before asking them for their orders.

So, Rey ordered her Sushi and Palpatine ordered Lobster Bisellian, along with wine for the table. With a curt nod, the waitress collected their order and then turned on her heels to presumably go give it to the chef, before making her rounds once more.

“I do find it most odd that I’ve never heard of you before, Rey,” the Chancellor began, “it is just truly most unfortunate. However, I must say that I am happy that at least we have met now. For to have met such a powerful Jedi as you are is a true gift. Especially with how you saved me from Ventress, just days ago now.”

Avoiding the topic of her origins, Rey focused more on the second half of what Palpatine had said. “It truly was a team effort,” she remarked with a small shrug, “I couldn’t have done it without Master Skywalker or Master Solo.”

A temporary look of disgruntlement passed over Palpatine’s face, in a blink and you’ll miss it moment, before he returned to his usual calm mannerisms.

Rey quietly wondered what that was all about.

“Spoken like a true Jedi.” While Palpatine said it as a complement, Rey knew better than to believe it actually was. 

Before Rey could say anything in return, the waitress had returned surprisingly fast with the bottle of wine that Palpatine had requested earlier, before promising that their food would be there shortly.

Lifting the bottle, the Dark Lord of the Sith eyed it with a shark-like look in his eyes, before pouring a generous amount into both his and Rey’s glasses. Then, once he set the tall bottle of wine down, once more, upon the table, he turned to Rey and raised his wine glass, prompting her to do the same. Clinking their glasses together in the universal sign of cheers, the two took sips from their own respective glasses, before setting them back down on the table.

Never before had Rey wondered what it was like to get drunk with a Sith Lord, but now that that could end up happening, she actually found herself a bit curious about the whole prospect. Still, she had enough sense to know that it probably wouldn’t lead to anything good and so she decided to watch how much she drank.

After taking another long sip from his glass, Palpatine focused his eyes on Rey once more, as he worked to forcibly lock their gazes.

Fueled by both his usual impulsive self and now most recently, the liquid courage, the small starts of a sly smile began to snake its way across Palpatine’s face, somewhat reminding Rey of a shark, right before it took a bite out of its prey.

“Tell me, dear Rey, did you ever hear the tragedy of Darth Plagueis ‘the Wise?’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	21. The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis “The Wise"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chancellor Palpatine and Rey talk, while Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka go to Dex’s for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

A million questions swam through Rey’s head with no answer in sight for any of them, it seemed. This Darth Plagueis… while obviously a Sith Lord, judging by his title of “Darth,” was most definitely not someone who she was familiar with. A trickle of fear stirred within her, as she worried that this was someone who she needed to know, if she wanted to fit into the role as being from this timeline. Yet, in all of her time here, she hadn’t really heard any of the Jedi really delving much into the history of the Sith, so she concluded that just playing the “dumb Jedi” would probably work, since after all she doubted many Jedi even cared to remember the Sith of old in very much detail.

“I’m sorry, Chancellor, but I’m afraid that I’m not quite sure who that is.” 

Rey watched, as cool flames seemed to erupt in the Chancellor’s eyes.

“I thought not, since after all I’m sure that it’s not quite the type of tale that would be shared amongst the Jedi,” Palpatine paused for effect, as he laid his hands out on the table, before bringing them together in a conjoined fist. Then, he leaned forward, as though he was telling her one of the deepest secrets known to mankind. “Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith. He was so powerful and so wise, hence his title, that he was able to use The Force to influence the midichlorians, in order to create life.” A flicker of confusion ran through Rey at the mention of midichlorians. The term was alien to her and she had no clue what it meant, though it seemed to have something to do with the force. She decided that she’d have to ask Ben later and if he didn’t know anything, then perhaps Master Yoda would. “He had such a knowledge of the dark side,” the Dark Lord continued, “that he could even prevent the deaths of the ones he loved, in order to keep them from dying,” the Chancellor shot her a wink, “I do suppose, sort of like you.” Definitely not comfortable with being compared to a Sith Lord, Rey shifted and felt a sudden twist in her gut. 

Her jaw tightened. 

Palpatine, however, was too wrapped up in his tale to notice any of this. “One day,” Palpatine went on, “Darth Plagueis became so powerful that the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power,” the Chancellor chuckled, “which of course, he eventually did. For, Darth Plagueis had taught his apprentice everything he knew and that same apprentice killed him in his sleep.” The Dark Lord smirked, “it’s ironic really. He could save others from death, but not himself. _ Never himself.” _

Rey narrowed her eyes curiously, “and what of his apprentice? Do you know what became of him?”

A flicker of rare surprise quickly flashed across the Sith’s face. Apparently, he had not been expecting that question.

“No one knows, dear Rey… no one knows,” the Chancellor murmured.

_ I do, liar. _

Palpatine sighed, “though I suppose what I mean to tell you is that you should be careful about who you choose to trust Rey. With powers as great as yours, you must be one of the most careful of us all. Although, please don’t take offense to that anecdote I told you, for I meant none, if you feel I drew compairisons, because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you are, be it Sith, Jedi, an average citizen or even a politician, like myself. At the end of the day, it will never matter. So, my dear Rey, I want you to know that while a great many people out there may try and manipulate you for the grand powers you hold, trust me when I say that I would never do such a thing and if you ever need someone to talk to, I am of course always here and willing to listen. After all, I am a politician and that’s what we do,” Palpatine attempted to joke, to which Rey faked a smile, “but in all seriousness, Rey, if the need ever arises, I truly am forever in your debt, so please come to me, if you are ever in need of anything. You have a friend in the Senate,” the way Palpatine said this all sounded incredibly genuine and honest, even when assessing him by way of the force Rey could pick up no bad intentions stirring within him.

She had to give it to him for that at least. He was a very talented actor and it showed all throughout history.

That fact also made her wonder though, what this whole conversation would’ve been like if she hadn’t been from the future and was instead in the dark as to who Chancellor Palpatine actually was.

She truly couldn’t say that she knew the answer.

“Thank you Chancellor,” she responded in kind, just as their food finally arrived.

Again, Rey was astounded by the sheer beauty of everything in the restaurant, for never before had she been to such a high class place and to be honest, so far the free wine and food appeared to be the only positive things about this whole outing.

As she took her first bite of Sushi, her palet was filled with a tasteful explosion of color. The rice had been cooked to perfection- something she had never been able to quite master herself-, the seaweed was tender and smooth with a hint of saltiness filling her senses, the fish was fresh with the most perfect of textures and everything else that lay within the roll was somehow deliciously perfect.

This place was good.

A few minutes of silence lapsed between her and the Chancellor, as they worked on their meals, before finally the Chancellor spoke once more, as he nursed his second glass of wine.

“My dear Rey, it’s come to my attention that despite our blooming friendship,” Rey almost choked on her food in surprise, “I hardly know anything about you. So please, do enlighten me, for I must say that I am most curious.”

Continuing to do her best to hide her surprise, Rey swallowed, before speaking in turn, “well Chancellor, I don’t know if there really is much to say,” Rey thought for a moment, as she did her best to decide what and what not to tell him, “I’m from Jakku and then, one day I set off to become a Jedi. There’s not much more about me that would interest you than that.”

Strangely enough, Palpatine seemed oddly interested by what she’d said, even though Rey was sure that everything she’d just said didn’t really have much room for follow up questions. After all, Jakku was basically nowhere and all Jedi set off to become Jedi at some point, so why was the Chancellor looking at her, as though he were observing a lab rat?

“Very interesting,” Palpatine murmured… “very interesting, indeed.” He took another bite of his Lobster dish, before continuing on, “I thought that Jedi were taken as babies to the Temple, yet you say that  _ you _ set off to become a Jedi. I find that very curious, dear Rey.”

_ Kriff. _

A shiver snaked its way up Rey’s spine, as she realized that she’d totally messed up.

“Well that’s normally how it goes, Chancellor,” she replied, forcing a smile on her face in an attempt to defuse any suspicions that the Dark Lord of the Sith might now have, “however, I just happen to be in the minority that come to the Temple, later in life. I suppose I was around…” Rey did her best to think of an age that would sound alright, “seven,” give or take twelve years, “when I set off to become a Jedi. My parents had just died and I was just lucky enough to have a Jedi find me shortly after.”

She desperately hoped her story would work.

“Curious,” Palpatine simply murmured back, before his eyes turned sorrowful, “though I must say that I am terribly sorry about your parents,” Rey had to force herself not to stab him through the heart with her plasma blade, for it was his fault in the first place that they were dead, “I know how that feels. My own family was slaughtered aboard our family starship. It was most awful and I just happened to be lucky enough… and I suppose also unfortunate enough, not to be there when it occurred. Sadly, the  _ criminal”  _ Palpatine spat out the word, “has yet to be found. So trust me when I say that I understand what you’re going through and just like I said before, if you ever need someone to talk to, I am here for you, dear Rey.”

A sprinkle of confusion and curiosity ran through Rey and she found herself wondering if the brutal deaths of his family were what turned him to the dark side. Then again, this was Palpatine, so she supposed that it was just as likely that he actually was the criminal and had just covered it up.

She’d probably never know.

“Thank you Chancellor, that is very kind of you and I am terribly sorry about your own family, just as well.”

The Dark Lord of the Sith simply bowed his head, “thank you.”

They resumed their meals.

* * *

Since he and Ahsoka had some extra time before picking up Rey that night, due to some kind of thing Rey was doing with Palpatine, they’d decided to go to Dex’s for dinner with Obi-Wan.

Anakin remembered that at some point, earlier that morning, Rey had explained the extent of what was happening, but to be honest, Anakin really hadn’t been listening, since all he could seem to think about was how unfair it was that the Chancellor was taking Rey instead of him.

Those dark thoughts of jealousy and envy left his mind though, as he sat gathered around a table with his former Master and Padawan. There, Anakin found himself enjoying a hearty meal, while they joked around with each other. 

Anakin loved moments like these, where the burdens of their lives, the Jedi Code and the Council just all seemed to disappear.

When it was just them. 

Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and himself.

Once finished, Obi-Wan paid the check and the three made their way to their feet, as they prepared for the walk back to the Jedi Temple.

As soon as Anakin opened the door, the crisp, cold air of the evening assaulted him, making him involuntarily shiver.

“Perhaps, we should have brought a speeder,” Obi-Wan quipped in relation to the weather, seeming to share the exact same thoughts as his former apprentice.

Yet, a smile lit up his Padawan’s face at the notion, “if we decided to take a speeder, I doubt we would’ve even left yet with how long it takes Anakin to choose one that he likes.”

“I don’t take that long,” Anakin protested, as he worked to defend himself.

Both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka shot him disbelieving looks.

As they turned down a less populated street, Anakin suddenly felt the levity of their situation plummet, as a brisk chill suddenly seemed to rattle his bones.

Something was wrong.

Both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka seemed to have noticed it too, as the group suddenly came to a halt.

For a long moment, nothing happened and all Anakin could see was a few people walking down the streets, while the wind whispered in their ears.

Then, before he could even blink, an unknown blaster went off, sending a bolt straight down towards them with unparalleled speed and accuracy.

As it headed straight towards Anakin’s exposed chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	22. Shed Tears for the Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey joins Palpatine at Galaxies Opera House, meanwhile Anakin goes through emotional turmoil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Time seemed to slow, as the bolt grew closer and closer, making Anakin realize that no matter what move he chose to make, the bolt was still going to hit its mark without outside interference. 

It was most simply too late.

Still, Anakin found it funny, because out of all the ways he’d imagined his death, this was not how he expected it to go. Then again, he never really had thought much of his eventual death.

He was Anakin Skywalker. The Chosen One. So, in his mind, some part of him had always believed himself to be indestructible.

Yet now, as he stared into the face of death, he realized that that was most definitely not so.

Anakin wished it wasn’t like this. For to go down by a single blaster bolt seemed so… so ordinary. He wished his death could’ve been more grand, like sacrificing himself for Obi-Wan or Ahsoka or even the entire galaxy itself… or maybe even falling from battle wounds after defeating the mysterious Darth Sidious.

It wasn’t his time, Anakin could feel it in those milliseconds leading up to what seemed like the inevitability of his death.

He didn’t want to die, but life was hardly fair. 

Anakin knew this intimately

Suddenly, time seemed to resume and everything that happened next was a blur.

Anakin flew off the ground.

Impact.

A cry of pain.

Silence.

Instinctively, Anakin instantly reached for his chest, breathing heavily, as he expected to find his hands to come away coated in his own blood. Yet oddly, when he brought his hands to his face, they came away clean.

It was then that Anakin truly took the time to take in his surroundings. No longer was he in the street, but now in an alleyway that had been about 7 meters away from him only moments prior. 

His position managed to just obscur him from the view of the would-be assassin.

Still, Anakin was certain he’d heard a cry of pain. Originally, he’d thought it’d been himself, but now he wasn’t so sure.

So, pushing himself to his feet, he stood, searching desperately for Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, and as soon as his eyes laid on the scene before him, everything clicked.

Obi-Wan, who had been standing right behind him when the shot went off, must've force pushed him out of the way, leaving his former Master to take the bolt for him.

The evidence was all there, as he stared at his Padawan, who was now desperately pressing her hands against Obi-Wan chest, in an attempt to stop a raging outpour of blood that was currently flooding in rivers from his former Master’s body.

While Obi-Wan was normally, so calm and collected, careful of not ever showing too much emotion, even from a distance Anakin could now see the pain radiating off of him in waves.

For a moment, Anakin flashed back to his mother, when she’d died in his arms. He couldn’t do that again, he couldn’t keep losing the ones he loved. Still, he couldn’t help Obi-Wan yet, the assassin needed to be taken care of first.

Quickly, Anakin unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and raced back into the square. At the sight of his reappearance, blaster bolts began to rain rapid-fire down upon him, once more. He didn’t even stop to wonder why this assassin seemed to only be targeting him, when he could’ve easily both ended Ahsoka and finished off Obi-Wan already. Instead all Anakin could think about was the image of Obi-Wan in torturous pain, while he laid in a pool of his own blood.

Rage, anger, guilt and grief, all warred through Anakin’s entire being, as a flicker of yellow curled at the bottom of his shining blue irises.

Anakin Skywalker was going to kill whoever did this.

* * *

Once they’d finished their meals and Palpatine had paid the check, Rey followed him back to their ride.

Within minutes they’d arrived at the Galaxies Opera House and while Rey had thought the restaurant was fancy, Zothique had been like a hole in the wall compared to the grand power and sheer exquisiteness that the Opera House seemed to emit.

“It is quite beautiful, now isn’t it,” Palpatine remarked with a sigh, as they made their way through the grand building and toward their seats.

“Yes… I must say it’s quite honestly one of the most beautiful things, I’ve ever laid my eyes upon,” Rey murmured back. Again, a twinge of sadness seemed to stab her right through the heart, as she found herself wishing that she could’ve been here with Ben instead of Palpatine. Having Palpatine here with her, just seemed to lessen and taint her experience, making her doubt she’d ever willingly want to come back here, due to the darkness of which this place would now always represent for her.

As they found their seats, the lights flashed overhead, as a warning to any stragglers, before finally they gave a final flicker and the crowd was engulfed in darkness.

Slowly, a sole light, faded at first, but then slowly becoming more and more powerful, flickered on and a beautiful woman, named Sattia, appeared, as she began to sing about how dark times were coming. Slowly, more and more people joined her on stage, as they worked to harmonize with her.

Throughout the first act Sattia fell in love with another named Jess. Together the two lived peaceful, happy lives, until one day the peace was disrupted when a mysterious man appeared and slaughtered almost all of the peaceful society, including the Sattia’s love interest, Jess.

Later, it turned out that mysterious man had been one of the original rulers of the society, a tyrant who had been extinguished centuries ago, and only reappeared, after another woman named Sabine, who the Sattia later discovered had also been in love with Jess, had used dark magic to bring life back to the murderous tyrant’s body. She’d thought that she could control him, so that she could use him to kill Sattia and then have Jess return to her once more. Still, the tyrant had managed to break his bonds and blind her, before the great massacre, which he’d enacted to break the society’s spirits, so that they’d fall in line. Not killing her, solely because she had been the one to bring him back.

Slowly, the tyrant began to rise all of the cruelest leaders from history to create an ultimate syndicate that essentially forced the society into slavery.

All the while, Sattia and Sabine slowly overcame their differences until one day they set out in an attempt to assassinate the cruel leaders and fix Sabine’s grave mistake.

Yet, their plans were foiled almost the instant they set foot in the grand castle, where the great rulers were staying and the pair were brought to the dungeons to await execution. Still, not all was lost, as when the execution day came, the rulers all bickered about who would be the one to kill the pair who’d been on their way to assassinate them.

Due to their overly large egos, prides and lack of patience, the leaders could not decide who should be the one to do it and so while Sattia and Sabine watched, the rulers brandished their swords and fought in an epic battle to the death. 

None of them survived. All fallen from selfish blades.

Staring down at the bodies Sabine was suddenly overcome with a great sadness for all the death and destruction that she’d caused and her sadness suddenly became so great that it killed her and she fell to the floor dead, to Sattia’s dismay.

The lights had then all but darkened, until the stage performer who played Sattia was the only one left to be seen. This time when she sang it was a slow and mournful song and yet, one also filled with hope for what could be in the future.

Then, just like the start, the entire cast joined her on the stage, harmonizing with her melody until a final note flew from Sattia’s lips and the crowd was thrown, once more, into darkness.

Applause erupted through the theater, as the lights flew back on and the cast took a bow. Rey wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye, before joining in.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of eyes on her back and swiveled her head to meet Palpatine’s sharp gaze.

“Quite the interesting story, now isn’t it, dear Rey,” he murmured, “to watch how quickly the world can perish, if the proper reinforcements are not put in place.” Then, the Dark Lord of the Sith flicked his gaze back over to the performers and he clapped once more for their amazing performance.

A shiver made its way up Rey’s spine and her hands stilled for a moment, before resuming clapping.

* * *

Anakin slashed his lightsaber out in quick defense moves, as the onslaught of bolts only seemed to gain more and more intensity with time. Still, that did not deter him. He needed to help get Obi-Wan to safety and the only way to do that would be to stab a hole straight through this coward’s heart.

While the rapid-fire bolts were most definitely not helping him in making quick work of taking out this assassin, it did luckily help provide him with a location, as he dashed into the tall building, where he now knew the assassin resided, before racing up the stairs and letting the force guide him as to the assassin’s direct location.

The blaster bolts had stopped almost as soon as he entered down the building and now, as he walked down an unpopulated hallway, Anakin could tell that he was getting close, bathed in an eerie silence.

The force guided him to a room, and he opened it up to find himself face to face with a Duro.

“Skywalker,” the unknown man greeted him in a mocking tone, as he held out an LL-30 blaster pistol, posed straight at his chest. The man’s stance was cocky and arrogant, which signaled only one thing in Anakin’s mind.

This man was a bounty hunter.

For a brief moment, he wondered why a bounty hunter would so foolishly come for a Jedi’s head on Coruscant. Yet, as once again, the image of Obi-Wan in a pool of his own blood out on the street filled his mind, Anakin shoved those thoughts aside.

It didn’t matter why the bounty hunter was here. 

All that mattered was his need to kill him.

Anakin held up his lightsaber, ready to fend off any more blaster bolts that came his way, but it seemed that this bounty hunter was full of surprises, as he suddenly lifted his other hand and spewed fire out of a gadget on his wrist in a great inferno.

It headed straight towards Anakin.

Anakin dove out of the way, taking cover behind a couple of steel boxes. Then, as soon as the heat had disappeared Anakin sprang out of his hiding place and instantly deflected ten rapid-fire shots that came his way. 

All of them, otherwise fatal.

Power surged through his veins in his anger for everything that had happened in just the past few minutes and suddenly, the next thing he knew, he was face to face with that bounty hunter scum and had sliced his lightsaber straight through his hands, leaving them to flop to the floor.

The man let out a cry of pain, as he stared at Anakin in shock and would’ve fallen to his knees, had Anakin not caught his left shoulder in a death grip.

“You will die, for what you’ve done today,” Anakin hissed, his voice low and his eyes swirling in an unnatural greenish shade, different from his usual blue.

“Revenge is not the Jedi way,” the bounty hunter whispered, in an attempt to plead for his life.

For a brief moment silence filled the room and Anakin’s gaze clouded, as he seemed to drift off.

Thinking.

Then, Anakin drove his blade straight through the bounty hunter’s heart, before racing for the exit before he could even see the bounty hunter's body collide with the floor.

* * *

As Rey arrived back at the Temple with Palpatine, she kindly thanked him for the night, before departing to go change into her usual wear and go find Anakin and Ahsoka.

As she now walked down the many hallways towards the designated spot, where they normally met up, she reflected back on the night and how it’d gone. 

While the food and show had been amazing, Rey still found it incredibly odd that Palpatine only took her, when it had been a group effort between her, Ben and Anakin. Of course, Ben was currently out of commission, so she supposed that she saw clear as day why Palpatine wouldn’t invite him, but Anakin wasn’t. Plus, Palpatine wanted Anakin to become Darth Vader, for he supposedly was The Chosen One after all, according to the prophecy and the history of her time. 

Palpatine should be pampering and working to gain Anakin’s trust. 

Not hers.

Next to that though, the topics of discussion for the night had also managed to confuse Rey quite a bit. It was almost like… almost like Palpatine was trying to shape her to become his apprentice.

Rey suddenly came to a halt upon the revelation.

Was that what was happening? Was Palpatine dropping Anakin for… for her?

It kind of made sense in a way, what with the great power coursing through her that he’d just happened to have been privileged to see.

For a moment, she struggled to breath, but not wanting to make a scene, in case anyone happened to cross her path, Rey forced herself to keep moving and forcibly swallowed her panic to deal with later. For while doing that would probably only make dealing with it so much worse, as pressure and stress continued to be constantly surmounting upon the revelation, Rey knew that she couldn’t break down here. 

Not so close to Palpatine.

As she finally came upon the exit, where she normally met Anakin and Ahsoka, her brows furrowed in confusion.

They always arrived early. 

They were always here.

Yet, today it looked like things were different, as Rey found herself alone with Anakin and Ahsoka nowhere to be seen.

With a sigh, Rey settled down on a nearby bench, as she waited, all the while hoping that nothing too terrible had happened, but then again, they were Jedi and trouble seemed to follow the Jedi wherever they went.

* * *

Anakin raced out of the building and made a beeline for Obi-Wan, who lay still in Ahsoka’s arms.

_ Too still. _

Yet, as Anakin arrived, he was relieved to find that Obi-Wan was still just barely alive and clinging to consciousness.

Ahsoka shot Anakin a sad look of hopelessness, as Obi-Wan struggled to breath, his breaths coming out in short, painful, quick grasps.

“An… Ana… Anak-kin,” his former Master breathed, as his eyes settled upon Anakin’s face with their last bit of clarity.

“Master, I’m here. P-please just… just h-hold on. Help is coming. I swear it.” Tears rolled down Anakin’s face in great, pain-filled streams. He couldn’t believe that this was happening. Not Obi-Wan, not now. He’d sworn, after his mother’s death that he wouldn’t let anyone else die, but now he could very well end up failing in that promise as he watched Obi-Wan struggle to breath, while way too much blood poured from his wound in grand amounts.

Anakin turned to Ahsoka, “have you contacted the Temple?” He urgently pleaded, “have you, Ahsoka?  _ Have you?!” _

She nodded, while her own tears slipped down her cheeks. “I did, but Master,” a sob wracked her body, “I don’t think… I… I-I don’t th-think…” she couldn’t finish, as grief seemed to flood her very being.

Anakin fell to his knees, as he gently took Obi-Wan’s head off of Ahsoka’s lap and onto his.

“A-always… l-like… a broth-... brother t-to… m-me…” Obi-Wan whispered, as he stared somberly into Anakin’s eyes.

A cough wracked Obi-Wan’s body and blood squirted out of his mouth, before it slowly started to fill his throat, leaving Obi-Wan to choke on his own blood.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, **_NO_** _!_ ” Anakin cried, as sobs wracked his body, “don’t do this to me Obi-Wan… d-don’t leave me. You can’t, _please_. I forbid it!” Sheer panic and pain twisted Anakin’s face. “Please, Obi-Wan. D-don’t leave me too. That bolt was meant for me. It should be me there! Please Obi-Wan d-don’t go… d-don’t leave me here without you.”

In his last moments, Obi-Wan just stared up at his former apprentice, a mix of the emotions that he’d always worked so hard to hide now plain and evident on his face, like there were a million things he wanted to say and yet, fell short of the ability to do it.

Then, he closed his eyes and exhaled his last breath.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was dead.  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	23. After The Rain Comes The Rainbow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin grieves over the loss of Obi-Wan Kenobi, while Rey fruitlessly waits for Anakin and Ahsoka’s arrival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, 6k reads... I didn’t expect that. Thanks so much guys! <33
> 
> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

He was dead.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was actually dead.

Anakin watched, as a trickle of blood slipped from his Mast- _brother’s_ lips.

He was too late.

Always too late.

First his mother, then Qui-Gon Jinn and now… now Obi-Wan.

His Master, his friend, his… his brother.

A desperate inhuman cry fell from Anakin’s lips, as he pulled Obi-Wan’s corpse tight into his arms. Void of life, his brother’s head simply fell limp on his shoulder, while sightless, glazed eyes seemed to stare off at something he could not see. 

Off into oblivion. An oblivion that he couldn’t stop.

Every emotion known to the universe seemed to explode within Anakin at that moment, in conflicting waves of fire and ice.

Anger that such a cruel fate had befallen his brother. Hatred for himself that he hadn’t been there in time to stop it. Guilt that Obi-Wan was in what should’ve been his own grave. Grief that he would never again be able to engage in banter with Obi-Wan. Relief that at least Obi-Wan no longer had to suffer through such great pain. Afraid that this could happen again, but next time with Ahsoka. Confusion, as to why this had even happened in the first place. Disturbed that Obi-Wan had had such a horribly painful death. Frustrated that he wasn’t able to save him. Love for his brother. Regret that he’d lied to Obi-Wan for so many years about so many things, not even offering him a chance to see if he’d understand. Resentful that life could be so cruel as to always seem to take away everyone he loved in the form of premature deaths. Shame that he wasn’t strong enough to prevent Obi-Wan from dying. Worried that now Obi-Wan may never know how he saw him as a father-figure and brother too. Sad that he never got to tell Obi-Wan that he loved him.

“Don’t leave…” he cried, “please, don’t leave me too. I can’t do this without you, Obi-Wan,” Anakin’s voice cracked under the weight of all of the emotional turmoil, _“please.”_

At this point, Anakin didn’t much care that his reaction- his pain, was unbecoming of a Jedi. He only cared about Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Obi-Wan Kenobi who was now dead.

A small hand on his shoulder, managed to momentarily bring him out of his trance and he turned his watery gaze to meet Ahsoka’s own, who too had tears cascading like waterfalls from her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Master. I’m so… so s-sorry,” she whispered painfully, “I should’ve done something, but I panicked and… and I… I-” Anakin stopped her with a soft shake of his head.

“It’s not your fault, Ahsoka. Please... don’t blame yourself,” Anakin let out a watery laugh, “if anything, it’s my fault. That bolt was headed straight for me. I should be the one laying in a pool of my own blood right now, but you know Obi-Wan… stubborn as ever,” his voice drifted off, as he turned his gaze back to Obi-Wan sightless eyes.

There was so much unsaid between them.

If only they had more time.

Suddenly, a light went off in Anakin’s brain as he suddenly realized something.

Rey’s teachings.

Perhaps he could make more time.

Closing his eyes, Anakin settled Obi-Wan back on his lap, before placing his hand over Obi-Wan’s gaping wound and slipping into a meditative state.

“Master?” He barely registered his Padawan calling out to him, “Master! _Anakin_ , what are you doing?”

Anakin gave no response, as he worked to clear his mind and focus on the here and now. He needed to save Obi-Wan. He needed to.

He wouldn’t leave him here to rot, not here and not now, and when Obi-Wan woke up, he was finally going to tell him everything that he’d been too hesitant to tell him before, if he managed to survive this, because if Obi-Wan cared about him enough to take the bolt for him, then he deserved to know.

He deserved to know who Anakin Skywalker truly was.

Sinking further into the meditation, Anakin begged the force to listen to his call.

And it did.

Slowly, as Anakin’s face grew paler and paler, the skin beneath his hand mended and then… a spark of life.

A sharp breath sounded from Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lips.

* * *

Rey dearly hoped that everything was alright. Already, an hour had passed and Anakin and Ahsoka were still nowhere to be seen.

She really hoped that they were just held up in traffic or something. Yet, she had a bad feeling about this, so that was probably just wishful thinking.

“I expected you to be back by now,” a voice suddenly sounded to her right and Rey jumped, her hand flying to her heart.

“Force! Ben, you scared me,” Rey yelped, now turning to face Ben, the perpetrator, who now sat smirking besides her on the bench.

A laugh fell from his lips and his eyes twinkled.

Quite honestly, seeing him appear so seamlessly happy made it very hard to stay mad at him and so soon enough, Rey found herself laughing too.

As the laughter eventually subsided and then, came to a complete halt, moments later, Ben once more settled his gaze upon her.

“Truly though Rey, why aren’t you back yet? It’s hours past the time that you usually get back. Was there a hold up or something? Are you in trouble? Did they just not-” Rey cut him off.

“Anakin and Ahsoka just haven’t come, yet. That’s all, I’m sure they’ll be here soon enough though,” Rey sighed, “plus, it’s only been an hour, anyways. I’m sure they’ll have a long, detailed explanation about bad traffic or something upon their arrival.”

Rey expected her response to reassure Ben, but instead his deep brown eyes just swam with confusion, “an hour?” He murmured, “Rey… it’s been way over an hour.” Concern lit his gaze, now shining in sync with the confusion. “Are you sure that you’re alright?”

A flicker of confusion ran through Rey, just as well, at the statement, because she was certain that they were only an hour overdue, from their scheduled meet-up time. 

Absolutely certain.

So, then what did Ben mean by hours? Of course, on a normal day that would be true, but not today, since she’d gone out with Palpatine.

Right… she’d forgotten to tell him that.

“Oh well… um Ben, well um actually,” Rey stumbled over her words, “it turns out that the Chancellor wanted to take me to a show at the Galaxies Opera House,” her pace of talking gained more and more speed as she went on and her eyes casted downward to sheepishly avoid his gaze, “and well um, I said yes for obvious reasons. So, we went to dinner at this really fancy place called Zothique and then saw a show called ‘Fallen From Grace.’ It was pretty good, but also super sad. I’ll tell you more about it later, if you want to know more about it. The restaurant was good; I ordered some Sushi and the Chancellor paid. So um, yeah, that’s why I have yet to get back.”

As she finished her rambling, Ben just stared at her with a bewildered expression on his face.

_“What?”_

Rey tensed, “Ben, I’m sorry, I know I should’ve told you sooner. It was cruel of me not too. I was just so wrapped up in everything and Anakin wanted me to help him and Obi-Wan with something and it just didn’t seem important and-”

“It didn’t seem important?” Ben growled, before harshly whispering, “Rey, _he’s the Dark Lord of the Sith._ Of course it’s important!” Reaching out Ben grabbed her wrist, “you can’t just hide things like that from me, Rey. Sometimes I feel like you don’t even trust me, you know? Like you still think, I’m a monster,” his grip increasingly tightened.

“Ben, that’s nonsense. Of course, I don’t think you’re a monster and obviously, I trust you” she pleaded back urgently, “it was an accident, a stupid mistake, I’m sorr-”

“Stop lying to me!” Ben yelled, though thankfully no one was close enough to hear it, “you’re just saying that,” his grip continued to tighten, “you’re just afraid… you’re afraid that one day I’ll leave you behind, just like your parents did back on Jakku,” Rey flinched at the reminder, but Ben paid it no heed, as he was much too wrapped up in his own thoughts. “You’re afraid that one day Kylo Ren will come back and you’ll be left with nothing.” Ben finally managed to cut off the blood circulation around her wrist, not stopping in increasingly tightening his grip, “but you can’t keep hiding things from me, Rey. You have to trust me. I’m not him. I am not _KYLO REN!”_ Ben’s voice echoed throughout the corridor.

“Ben, I know. I’m sorry… Ben, I’m sorry. I should’ve told you,” as pressure continued to increasingly build from Ben’s death-like grip around her wrist, Rey finally glanced at it, “B-Ben please stop, you’re hurting me.”

All the pain, hurt and anger seemed to almost instantly vanish from Ben’s face, as he glanced down at Rey’s wrist and realized what he was doing.

Instantly, he let go of his vice like grip and turned to Rey with regret written all over his face, “Rey, I’m so sorry… I don’t know, I- I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry… I’m...” he breathed. “I- I should go.”

Rey shook her head, gently enclosing the hand that had just been encircling her wrist in her own. “No, Ben. Stay,” she sighed, but with a calm, steady light shining in her eyes. “We’ve both made mistakes in our lives, but we’re still always there for each other when it really matters, right?” She asked him, searching his gaze for any kind of response, “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you that I was going out with the Chancellor tonight. That was both cruel and callous of me. So, I’m sorry.”

Ben nodded slowly, “I’m sorry too, I just don’t like you having to be alone with him, Rey. I want to be able to protect you and I can’t do that while I’m here and you're there,” he sighed, as a small flicker of light finally did manage to return to his eyes, “although, I suppose that you always were pretty good at protecting yourself.” He paused, before taking a deep breath, “I’m sorry of all that I accused you of, that was… that was quite unfair of me. I can only hope that you’ll forgive me.”

Rey gave a nod, as a small smile tugged at the corner of her cheeks.

“Always.”

* * *

In his final moments, as Obi-Wan starred up at Anakin, he’d felt so much regret flooding out of him in what felt like streams, sort of like the blood pouring out of his body, he darkly supposed. There was just so much he wanted to tell Anakin and now he would never have the chance nor the time.

Honestly, when he thought about it, there were a lot of things he wished he could’ve done.

While he was glad that at least he got to tell Anakin how he felt about him, he wished he could’ve reassured him about how proud he was, as to how far Anakin had come as a Jedi Knight.

Something that Master Qui-Gon Jinn had never really done for him.

He wished that he could’ve gotten to indulge in banter with Anakin one last time, he wished he’d worked harder to get Anakin to talk to him.

He wished that he could’ve told Anakin that he loved him.

Yet, fate was quick and unexpected and now he would be unable to do any of those things.

Anakin wasn’t the only one his wishes surrounded though.

Obi-Wan wished he could’ve seen Satine, at least one more time. He wished that he’d told her of how he truly felt and most of all he wished that he could’ve heard her beautiful laugh, if only for one last time.

He wished that he’d gotten to have one more conversation with Ahsoka, about anything really.

He wished-

Suddenly, an intense flash of pain seemed to stab him straight through the heart. It was worse than anything he’d ever felt in his life and would’ve made him cry out in sheer agony, had his body not been so exhausted. 

Then, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life flickered out like candlelight.

He was gone. _Dead._

At first there was nothing, but darkness, and Obi-Wan felt like he was slowly rising. Yet, none of his senses seemed operational.

He didn’t understand what was happening, it was almost like an out-of-body experience.

 _You’re dead,_ something seemed to whisper to him, reminding him of what had just happened moments before… or was it hours, months or even years before? Obi-Wan wasn’t quite sure, his grasp on time seemed to be lacking in this strange place.

“Obi-Wan,” he heard a whisper that oddly sounded like Master Jinn and a flicker of colorless light started to appear, but then suddenly, he felt himself falling and opened his eyes with a gasp, as he jolted upward, grasping at his chest.

He was alive again… somehow, and the wound was oddly, just gone.

 _Rey’s teachings,_ his mind supplied and with a sudden jolt of horror, he worked to take in the scene. Obi-Wan turned to see Anakin slumped over at his side, while Ahsoka just stared on in shock like she didn’t know what to make of the situation.

To be honest, Obi-Wan wasn’t quite sure he did either.

He should be dead, one with the force, and yet, he wasn’t, because Anakin had saved him, by pulling him away from imminent death at the very last moment.

_Anakin…_

Obi-Wan quickly and carefully placed his fingertips against his former Padawan’s throat, hoping that the deed that Anakin had just performed didn’t kill him, like Rey had warned it could. Luckily though, Obi-Wan was just barely able to register Anakin’s pulse, albeit it being much too slow and rather thready.

“How long until medics arrive?” Obi-Wan demanded to know, upon finally facing Ahsoka, who continued to just gap at him in shock.

“Any minute…” she murmured back. “Obi-Wan, how… how are you even alive? You were… you were d-dead. What… what did Anakin do?”

Obi-Wan sighed, “it doesn’t matter now, Ahsoka. Anakin… Anakin can- _will_ explain later, he’ll definitely know much more than I.”

With a defeated sigh, Obi-Wan turned his full attention back to Anakin, just hoping that he’d be able to hang on until the medics arrived.

* * *

Another hour lapsed and Rey forced Ben to cut the connection, ordering him to get some much needed rest. 

With a sigh, Rey finally managed to assess that something had to have happened to Anakin and Ahsoka, because they still hadn’t shown up. Already, she’d tried to comm Anakin, Ahsoka and even Obi-Wan multiple times.

They all had yet to pick up or even try to comm her back.

So, with a sigh, Rey resigned herself to having to find her own way back, as she slipped out of the exit and began the long walk back to The Temple, just hoping that she didn’t run into too much trouble.

After all, from what she’d heard, the streets of Coruscant were no place to be alone after dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	24. Whistling Winds of Parting Valleys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey heads back to the Jedi Temple and Anakin wakes up in the Halls of Healing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

The wind whistled in Rey’s ears, as she walked down narrow streets, doing her best to navigate her way back to the Jedi Temple. For in all honesty, Rey truly had no idea how to actually get back, but she supposed that as long as she kept the Jedi Temple in her sights, it couldn’t be too hard.

Turning down yet another alleyway, Rey caught the flickering lights of a nightclub out of the corner of her vision. She watched, as a couple of drunk guys stumbled out, before catcalling her. Disgusted by the behavior, Rey quickened her pace and kept her hand close to her belt and thus her lightsaber, just in case.

Thirty minutes went by and the Temple grew larger and larger, meaning that she was on the right track. It was past midnight now and most of Coruscant was either sleeping or indulging in the nightlife at clubs and bars.

Almost everyone.

Rey turned down a quiet, darkened alleyway, but then gave pause when she heard a rustling noise coming from just overhead.

Her eyes instantly flew upward, searching for the perpetrator, but when no one appeared, she closed her eyes and reached into the force, searching for life forms.

Much to her chagrin, there were four nearby. Two above her and two closing in from both sides, hidden by the cover that the night provided and old trash that littered the streets.

Judging from the way that they seemed to be trying to sneak up on her, Rey guessed that their intentions were not friendly, but rather hostile instead.

A trickle of fear ran down her spine, before she forced herself to release it into the force. She could take on four assiliants. After all, she’d dealt with far worse before.

“I know you’re there,” she called out, as she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt, “leave now and this doesn’t have to go any further.”

A chuckle rang out, as a human woman appeared, dropping down from up above.

“Quite observant, aren’t you?” She quipped. “Though, I do suppose that nothing lasts forever.”

In her peripheral vision, Rey watched as a Rodian and a Twi'lek worked to block her escape from behind, while another human woman materialized out of the shadows to take her place next to the woman, who seemed to be their leader.

“You don’t want to do this,” Rey warned, while keeping a watchful gaze on the main woman. “Just like I said earlier, leave now and this doesn’t have to go any further.”

“Don’t think you’re in a position to be making’ threats,” the woman’s eyes narrowed, “you’re encroaching on our land. So, we’re gonna take what’s ours.”

Lightning fast, the woman whipped out a blaster and began firing at Rey, who just narrowly managed to dodge, before flicking on her lightsaber to try and block the rest of the onslaught of bolts.

“Jedi!” She heard one of them call out with hints of both fear and reproach. Despite that though, the gang didn’t seem all too put off in the long term, as she continued to block bolts, while simultaneously dodging more physical assaults.

Still, she could only hold up against them for so long in such a tight space, when finally a lucky blaster bolt managed to hit her leg. 

Suffice to say fighting in such tight quarters, while also having to defend both sides with one lightsaber, wasn’t that easy.

With a cry of pain, Rey fell to her knees, dropping her lightsaber. She then watched with horror as the leading woman walked up to her and placed her blaster against her skull.

“Well, I was thinking about keeping you alive, but there is quite the bounty for the heads of Jedi scum like you,” a calculated look, once more, overcame the woman’s gaze, as she prepared to pull the trigger. However, just before she could, a white plasma blade dove straight into her heart, replacing her callous gaze with a look of horror.

“Kara!” The other human woman cried out and Rey listened with a mix of shock and confusion, as blaster bolts suddenly began to fly off in tandem. Then, almost as soon as it all began, it was over and everything was quiet except for the sound of her own pained breathing.

“Rey!” She heard a worried voice call out, before a tall man with a shock of black hair ran up to her, before helping her stand.

“Ben?” She murmured, as her brows knitted in a mask of confusion, “Ben, you should be sleeping... why- no, how are you here?” 

Ben simply rose a brow and then, suddenly it all made sense. He’d used the bond, of course.

“The bond,” he replied, affirming her theory and ignoring her chide about his need of rest, “but Rey that hardly matters... you’re hurt. I felt it through the bond. We need to get you back quickly.” His concerned gaze assessed her body.

Rey shook her head, “Ben, I’m fine. Trust me, it was just a graze.”

Ben gave a slow nod, before stopping and helping her lower herself back to the ground, much to Rey’s befuddlement. “Ben, what are you doing?”

He didn’t answer her, as he gently laid his hand on her leg and closed his eyes, seeming to drift off into a meditative state. Slowly, the pain from the blaster burn began to lessen until it disappeared completely.

He’d healed her.

As soon as it was done, Ben woozily made his way back to his feet, with Rey quickly following.

“Ben! You shouldn’t have done that,” Rey scolded, “it was only a graze, like I literally just said! I wasn’t going to die or anything like that and I mean, you were just shot! Literally just days ago from now.” She eyed him with concern as he just shrugged.

“Rey, I’ll be fine,” he told her softly, as his image seemed to glitch in and out of focus, “but I don’t think I can keep up this projection. So, hurry back and please try not to run into any more trouble,” his eyes twinkled one last time, as they reflected the lights of Coruscant, before suddenly he began to fade until he was simply gone.

* * *

_Anakin bent over Obi-Wan's broken body._

_“An’kin… h-help me… please… don’ wanna... d-die… help...” Blood rose up in his brother’s throat, distorting the rest of his words._

_Terror laced Anakin’s spine, “Obi-Wan, no… don’t… don’t go, please. I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”_

_Anakin watched in horror as Obi-Wan’s life slipped from his body and his chest stilled with his last breath. Blood poured from his brother’s lips, adding to the pool that was already surrounding them, and his eyes became sightless and distant. Obi-Wan Kenobi was gone. He was dead._

_“No,” Anakin breathed, “no, no, no, no, no, no,_ **_NO_ ** _!”_

_Sobs wracked Anakin’s body, as his grief-ridden blue gaze starred in shock at his fallen Master. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. This was wrong, this was unjust and this just shouldn’t be happening._

_He wasn’t prepared to face yet another death._

_Anakin closed his eyes tightly, as if that would hide him from reality, but as he felt something, or rather someone grab at his tunics, he opened them back up in a flash to meet Obi-Wan’s blues that were now staring up at him, distant but alive._

_“Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked, as hope began to fill his increasingly brightening gaze. It had worked… what exactly, Anakin couldn’t remember, but all that mattered was that now Obi-Wan was here. He was back, alive and safe._

_But then, Anakin suddenly recoiled in horror as Obi-Wan’s features morphed into Ahsoka’s, who now stared up at him with Sith yellow eyes and a bloody grin._

_“This was your doing.”_

Anakin awoke with a shout and jolted upwards in bed. Almost instantly, he felt two presences at his side, asking him if he was alright.

The dream burned painfully in his memory, but he pushed it off to the side for now. He needed to find Obi-Wan, he needed to know that his plan had worked.

“Obi-Wan… wh-where’s Obi-Wan,” he demanded in a hoarse whisper, as his eyes frantically darted to and fro, but not really taking anything in.

“Anakin,” a soft placating voice sounded from above, “I’m right here, I’m alright.”

Relief flooded through Anakin’s senses, as his gaze darted upwards to see Obi-Wan’s familiar shock of red hair and calm features.

“Obi-Wan,” he breathed out a sigh of relief to see that he was safe and no longer dead in a pool of his own blood, before suddenly, his gaze turned more playful, “six” he whispered causing Obi-Wan’s gaze to turn even more concerned than it had been before.

“Ahsoka, go get Healer Che and tell her, he’s awake” Obi-Wan ordered, before turning his full attention back to Anakin. “Six what?”

Anakin rolled his eyes and took a breath, before hoarsely replying, “that makes six times I’ve saved your life.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think that’s quite accurate,” he grumbled in retort, but with no real malice underlining his words. Then, his whole stance turned back to his much more serious one from before, as he took a seat at Anakin’s bedside.

“Anakin, what you did today was commendable,” he paused, “but I died Anakin… the will of The Force was that I was to die and maybe… maybe you shouldn’t have broughten me back.”

Shock registered in Anakin’s bright blue gaze, as he stared in horror at his Master, while trying to process what he was saying. “Wh-what? What are you saying, Obi-Wan? That you wanted to die?”

“No,” Obi-Wan paused with a sigh, “that’s not what I mean, but Anakin, you could’ve died saving me like you did… in fact you almost did, and I don’t think… I don’t think that I could live with myself, knowing that I’m the one who led to your death,” he sighed, “of course, I’m grateful for the sacrifice, you made for me Anakin, but it was risky… too risky. So, while I hope we never run into a situation like that again, if something like that does happen in the future, I need you to be able to let go of me,” his gaze starred unfalteringly into Anakin’s own, “promise me that you’ll leave me.”

Instead of making such a dark promise, Anakin’s eyes narrowed, “you would’ve done the exact same thing.”

Obi-Wan was silent, denoting that Anakin was right.

Just as he saw Obi-Wan open his mouth to further his point, despite Anakin’s strong rebuttal, Anakin quickly cut in, in order to avoid having a conversation that would only end in them at each other’s throats, because Anakin sure as hell wasn’t going to change his mind and he doubted that Obi-Wan would either. Suffice to say, they were both very stubborn.

In his attempt to change the subject from its current course, Anakin’s eyes turned a bit more thoughtful as he spoke, “you said I was like a brother to you,” he murmured, making Obi-Wan’s gaze soften at the statement, their previous conversation now forgotten for the moment, “I never thought that you felt like that towards me, because of course while I’ve always felt that way about you, especially since you’re the closest thing that I’ve ever had to a father, you’ve just always seemed too wrapped up in the Code to feel such things and I just… I never realized that… that maybe-“

Obi-Wan cut him off with a nod, “I know,” he sighed with a sad look in his eyes, “and I know that sometimes I can be a bit harder to read, but I guess that I just hoped that it would still show through my actions. Yet, when I was laying there and realized that death was imminent, it made me second-guess myself about that and a lot of other things,” Obi-Wan paused, “I know that you prefer verbal confirmations about things, especially due to how your upbringing was very different than my own. So… I’m sorry I never told you sooner Anakin, because you are like a brother to me. Truly, you are, no matter what the Code says.”

“Thank you,” Anakin breathed, happy that they’d finally managed to reach this point of understanding. Yet, soon enough that outlook was overshadowed, as he remembered his previous promise to himself, right before he’d brought Obi-Wan back into the land of the living.

Anakin shifted uncomfortably, as he prepared to tell Obi-Wan everything. Life was so short and now that they were having their first real conversation in years, Anakin knew that he needed to tell Obi-Wan and he needed to tell him now.

Anakin’s brows furrowed, “Obi-Wan, there’s… there’s something that I need to tell you.”

Obi-Wan nodded, as if urging his former Padawan to continue.

“Obi-Wan, I’m,” Anakin stopped short, as fear coursed through his body. He’d promised himself that he’d do this. So, why did he have to be chickening out now at the very last second? Anakin took a deep breath, “Obi-Wan… I’m… I’m m-“

Anakin was cut off, as the door to his room slammed open and Healer Che made her way to his bedside with Ahsoka following suit.

Her critical gaze flickered over Anakin’s body, as she worked to assess him.

“Anakin Skywalker, it’s only by the will of The Force that you’re still alive.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	25. A New Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Obi-Wan have a much needed talk, after Healer Che makes her assessment.
> 
> Dooku discovers the remains of Cad Bane.
> 
> Rey visits Ben in the Halls of Healing and finally gets answers, as to where Anakin and Ahsoka were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Healer Che.

Anakin had to stop himself from groaning, as soon as she entered the room. For while of course, he was grateful for everything that she did for the Temple, he did not particularly like the Halls of Healing himself and Healer Che only made it worse, because out of all the healers here, he probably got on with her the worst, what with him constantly evading the healers, leading to countless headaches for her that did not necessarily put him in her favor. Then again, it was hardly his fault, because maybe if she would just let him be the judge of his own healing process then they would actually get along, but instead she just had to construct a diagnosis and then a treatment plan that always seemed to take forever. Essentially, the woman wasted his time, because he shouldn’t be in here relaxing, but rather out there, protecting the Republic.

“Anakin Skywalker, it’s only by the will of The Force that you’re still alive,” he listened to her snidely remark, while fighting the urge to roll his eyes, which granted, was a considerable feat for him, in this situation. “The amount of power you’ve exerted has pushed you far past your limits, so I’m going to need you to tell me what happened,” she paused, “so far, Master Kenobi and Padawan Tano have been so kind as to tell me the minor details, as to which you overexerted yourself in your use of The Force. Yet, I have yet to learn as to how. So, please enlighten me Skywalker, because despite what you might think I have many other patients that need tending to other than yourself.”

“If that’s the case, then maybe I should just get going,” Anakin quipped, albeit seriously, as he began to sit up, “after all, I don’t want to hold things up for you.” A steady hand quickly found its way to his chest and this time, Anakin actually rolled his eyes, much to Healer Che’s chagrin, as she pushed him back down onto the bed.

“Oh no you don’t,” she rebutted, “no, Skywalker, you’re going to stay right here until I have all the information that I need to know in order to treat you accordingly. So please, if you want to play games, there’s a game of Dejarik in the other room, otherwise, you’d better start talking to me.”

“Actually, a game of Dejarik does sound nice,” Anakin began, just to piss her off, which it totally did, as she cut off whatever he was about to say next.

“Cut the crap, Skywalker,” she grumbled, startling the trio, “what happened?”

So, with a dejected sigh, Anakin realized that he was not getting out of this and launched into a recount of what had happened. From Obi-Wan being shot, to him passing out upon Obi-Wan resurrection. Although, he did leave out him killing the Duro bounty hunter in cold blood, instead saying that it’d been a life or death situation, since admitting to that would most definitely not look good for his image. Only Obi-Wan seemed to catch note of his deception, shooting him a look, but didn’t question it and instead, just let Anakin finish without interruption. By the end of the tale, Healer Che eyed him concernedly, before shooting her ice blue gaze to Obi-Wan.

“Master Kenobi, are you sure he didn’t hit his head?” The healer asked inquisitively, before grabbing a light on a nearby table and shining it in Anakin’s eyes to check for a concussion.

Anakin stiffened at not being believed at first, but still allowed the healer to go about her work, if but for the moment.

“No, Master Che,” Obi-Wan finally responded in kind, after a moment, “Anakin speaks the truth.”

Incredulity filled the healer’s gaze as she turned her eyes upon her last hope from this madness, Ahsoka, yet the Padawan only nodded in agreement, as to how that was exactly what happened. For a brief moment, a flicker of curiosity ran through Master Che’s shining blue irises, before she returned to her usual expressionless veneer.

“Interesting… very interesting, indeed,” Healer Che’s eyes refocused on Anakin, “and where did you come about this power, Skywalker? I’ve not even heard of Master Yoda exuding an ability such as the one you have presented us with.” Her gaze seemed to stare straight through him and into his soul, making Anakin feel exposed to the entire galaxy.

He shifted uncomfortably, wondering whether or not it would be a good plan to tell the truth in this situation. On one hand, it would seem rather odd and quite unbelievable if he said that he just intuitively learned it, besides Anakin was a terrible liar, and on the other hand, if he told Healer Che that Rey had taught him and attempted to teach Obi-Wan just as well for that matter, it could put Rey in an awkward position, since he wasn’t quite sure about what the Temple would think of the power. 

Suddenly, a flicker of surprise ran through him, as he realized that he was actually concerned about Rey’s outcome in all of this madness. That was certainly new. Then, another thought sprang to the forefront of his mind.

They’d forgotten to pick Rey up.

In all the madness, it had seemed rather irrelevant, he supposed, as they’d been much more focused on collectively not dying, but a sudden stab of guilt went through his heart, as he realized that they were now probably hours overdue from the time that they had originally promised to stop by at the Senate Building.

“Kriff,” he muttered, as stress filled his very being and all three of the other force-users took a step back in surprise at his sudden use of language.

“You’re telling me that ‘ _Kriff’_ taught you this power?” Healer Che snapped back sarcastically, before heaving out a long sigh, “Skywalker, please I need you to answer my question. Where or I suppose, from whom did you learn of such a power?”

Anakin forced himself to snap back into the present, deciding that as soon as the healer left, he’d deal with the whole Rey stuck at the Senate Building problem.

Deciding to just stick with the truth, Anakin finally confessed to the healer, where he’d learned the ability, “I learned from Master Rey, Healer Che.”

The healer eyed him with a hint of confusion lingering in her gaze, “I’m terribly sorry, Skywalker, but I’m not entirely sure that I’m aware of who Master Rey is.”

“She’s one of the new Jedi at the Temple. Might have been a Shadow or something… honestly I’m not really sure, but she’s very adept in the ways of The Force,” Anakin paused, “I saw her use the power once on someone,” he vaguely supplied, “and so I asked her to teach me, but I made no progress until it really mattered, thankfully,” Anakin’s eyes flickered to Obi-Wan’s own which held deep conflict.

For a long moment Healer Che was silent, before finally, she spoke once more. “While you have my respects Master Kenobi, what you performed, Skywalker, appears to be a very dangerous and rather unorthodox use of The Force. I shall have to meditate on it, later,” Healer Che’s gaze briefly flickered to the door, “I have other patients that I shall now need to attend to, but I order you to a day’s bed rest in the Halls of Healing, so don’t get any ideas,” she demanded, “however, Skywalker,” the renowned Jedi healer continued, “I do believe that you should discuss this new power of yours and this… Master Rey with Master Yoda, after you make a full recovery. For, I am sure that he’ll hold much more wisdom on the entirety of the matter than I.”

Anakin just nodded, as he watched Healer Che take her leave. While, of course, he didn’t really quite enjoy the fact that he would now have to spend the night and then a whole other day here, it was much better than seeing his Master off at the Funeral Pyre, so he’d take it. Then, with a start Anakin suddenly remembered the whole Rey situation and turned his gaze to center it on Ahsoka.

“Ahsoka, we might’ve forgotten about Rey,” he murmured sheepishly, to which his young apprentice widened her eyes in surprise at the sudden revelation, before quickly departing, as she sprinted out the door and through the crowded hallways. Anakin watched her go for as long as he could, before Obi-Wan made his way over to the door, shutting it and once more cutting Anakin off to the rest of the world and leaving him alone with his brother.

Doing his best to work up the nerve to talk to Obi-Wan again about the secrets he’d kept from him for far too long, Anakin took a deep breath, before centering his now nervous gaze on his former Master’s own.

“I presume, you still wish to speak with me about what you weren’t able to finish earlier?” Obi-Wan guessed, in his practiced Coruscanti accent, as he once more made his way over to the chair at Anakin’s bedside and took a seat.

Anakin nodded minutely, while his heart screamed at him to start talking, telling him that if Obi-Wan considered him as his very own brother, then he would understand. Still, his brain haunted him with dark thoughts of how Obi-Wan might reject him, if he knew about him and Padmé. For if Obi-Wan let any of it slip to the Council, then Anakin would most certainly be done for and even more than that, it could gravely injure Padmé’s political career.

Still, after Obi-Wan’s confession, Anakin forced himself to admit that he would understand. He’d just simply have to, unless he was lying, which was something that Obi-Wan rarely ever did, unless it was absolutely necessary. Plus, Padmé had even told him on numerous occasions that he should confide in Obi-Wan about their relationship, so he did also have her blessing in this.

Yet, after so many years gone by and all the lies built upon lies, Anakin found it next to impossible to tell Obi-Wan of his relationship status with Padmé.

As conflict seemed to be tearing him in two, Anakin finally decided to just rip off the bacta patch.

 _“PadméandIaremarried,”_ he murmured quickly, each word seeming to blur into the next.

“What?” Obi-Wan questioned, as his brows furrowed, because Anakin quickly realized that what he’d just said was spoken so fast and fluent that it barely even sounded like Basic anymore.

So, he tried again, “Obi-Wan, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you earlier. I was afraid and I know that I probably shouldn’t have been, but Padmé and I… Padmé and I are… we’re married.”

For what seemed like a long moment to Anakin, but was at most maybe a few seconds, silence engulfed the two, as Anakin searched Obi-Wan’s gaze for any kind of reaction until finally Obi-Wan just gave a small nod.

“I know.”

Flabbergasted by this revelation, Anakin’s mouth gaped and his eyes widened in shock. “You… you knew? This entire time, you _knew?”_

Obi-Wan just nodded again with a kind look in his eyes, “of course I did Anakin, and while I was never certain of marriage, I knew that it was at least a possibility. I mean, I’ve raised you since you were nine. Plus, you and Padmé never really did or have done an exceptional job at hiding your feelings for each other” he sighed, “but don’t worry, I haven’t reported any of this to the Council and I’ve cast aside any suspicions that others may have had, by covering for you. I… I understand what it’s like.”

Relief flooded through Anakin at the sound of Obi-Wan’s approval. It was invigorating to know that there was finally someone other than Padmé, and he supposed Chancellor Palpatine, that he could confide completely in. For while, Obi-Wan was someone he of course trusted, there’d been many things in his life that he’d been unsure about whether or not, he could truly trust Obi-Wan enough to tell him about it, due to his seemingly strict moral code, such as The Tusken Raider incident that he supposed he should eventually bring up, albeit not now, since Anakin wasn’t all too sure that he was really up for that kind of emotional turmoil of a conversation at the moment, especially at this hour. However, the second part of Obi-Wan’s statement made Anakin give pause, as he turned his now curious gaze upon his brother.

“Wait… what do you mean, you understand what it’s like?” He inquired, shooting Obi-Wan a perplexed look.

His former Master simply sighed, “that’s a story for another time. It’s late Anakin and you need your rest, I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon and we can talk again then. Otherwise, I expect you to be resting,” then with final goodbyes, Obi-Wan disappeared out of the front door, leaving Anakin alone with both a million questions and a flicker of hope.

* * *

A burst of anger flared through Dooku’s senses, as he stared down at the remains of Cad Bane. Apparently one of the Jedi, presumably Skywalker, had finished him off. He could tell by the tell-tale lightsaber stab wound that ran straight through the bounty hunters heart.

He clenched his fist and watched sadistically, as the body before him scrunched up into an unrecognizable puddle of blood, flesh and bone, on the musty floor.

No longer did the bounty hunter look like he’d ever been anything really, as his remains lay unrecognizable and heaped at the Sith’s feet.

Then with one last hate-filled glance, the Count turned away from the mangled body of the now former bounty hunter, before making his way back out of the building, off to go find another one to do the dirty work for him.

Hopefully this time the bounty hunter would actually do their job correctly. If not, then Dooku would just have to make sure that their already guaranteed death would be all the more painful unless Skywalker managed to get to them first.

* * *

Finally back at the Jedi Temple, Rey breathed a sigh of relief. While her trekk back had honestly not been the greatest and she would probably be a dead body lying back in that alleyway had Ben not interfered, she was just glad to be back. Filled with contentment, she turned towards the Halls of Healing to go visit Ben and make sure that he was actually sleeping, when suddenly an oddly familiar blur of movement came barreling into her, effectively flooring her.

As she made her way back to her feet, she worked to assess what had happened and was somewhat surprised to see that Ahsoka had been the perpetrator.

“Ahsoka?” She murmured in confusion, “what are you doing in the Halls of Healing?” While she was also quite curious about why she’d never shown up with Anakin, this question seemed much more important at the moment and so that could wait.

To her dismay though, it appeared that the two events were actually connected.

“Rey!” Ahsoka yelped in surprise, before letting out a breath of relief, “I was just heading out to look for you! Anakin, Obi-Wan and I ran into trouble earlier tonight. I’m so sorry that we couldn’t make it to the Senate Building, earlier,” she apologized, to which Rey just shook her head concernedly.

“No worries,” she promised, as her gaze turned serious, “is everyone alright?”

Ahsoka seemed paused, as if finding the question difficult to answer, which was pretty odd, since it was a rather straightforward question. Yet, soon enough the Padawan seemed to come to a conclusion, as to how to answer, as she finally spoke, “for the most part, yes,” the Padawan decided, “Anakin just overexerted himself, so he’s on a day of bed rest, which means that tomorrow it’ll just be me accompanying you to the Senate Building.”

Rey nodded, “alright, well I suppose it’s a good thing that it seems that nothing too serious happened, and thank you Ahsoka. Now, if you don’t mind, I was going to go visit, Ben, before I retire to my room for the night.”

Ahsoka nodded her acceptance at Rey’s request, “oh, no problem and of course. See you tomorrow morning then, Rey,” then the Padawan diverted from Rey’s path and presumably headed back to her respective quarters for the night.

As she finally came upon Ben’s room, Rey quietly opened the door, in order to not wake him up, in case he was actually sleeping. As she entered and closed the door behind her, before turning to face him, she quickly discovered that much to her dismay, he was still very much awake and watching her intently.

“Ben, you should be asleep. Especially, after healing me through the bond, if I might add,” Rey eyed him sternly and then watched, as he seemed to shrink like a youngling from her gaze.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I know I probably shouldn’t have done that, but the thought of you in danger scared me, Rey. I had to heal you to make sure that you were in top shape to make it back. Then, I wanted to make sure that you did indeed actually make it back, so it was only right for me to stay up. I mean you were with Palpatine tonight, Rey. _Palpatine._ Then almost immediately after that you almost died, for what seems like completely unrelated reasons, so I hardly think that my worries are unfounded.”

With a sigh, Rey made it to his side, before wrapping one of her hands around one of his respective own. “I know,” she murmured back in reply, “that’s why I came, because I knew that you’d be like this,” she remarked with a teasing twinkle in her bright, brown gaze. “However, as you can now see, I’m here. So please Ben, you can go to sleep now. Tomorrow, we can talk about all the craziness that went down tonight, but until then, please, just listen to the healers and rest.”

Despite still seeming a bit hesitant, Ben finally acquiesced to her wish and so, with a triumphant smile, Rey pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, before making her way out the door and back to her room.

She couldn’t wait for Ben to recover, since in all honesty, after tonight, Rey found herself dreading returning to guard Palpatine. While, of course, she knew she had to, she just had a very bad feeling about the nearing future and Palpatine was at the center of it.

Still, somehow, for some reason, The Force had sent her and Ben back to this time, thus giving Ben a second chance at life and them both the chance to build a better future.

So, they would do what they had to, to better the galaxy.

_“To have been blind is to see everything and to see the balance is the only way to restore what was lost.”_

The words of Qui-Gon Jinn echoed in her ears and again, she found herself at a loss, as she tried to put together what it meant.

Perhaps, she’d finally bring it up to Ben tomorrow, since she wasn’t really getting anywhere on her own, like she’d hoped. Maybe he would know.

Opening the door to her room, before quietly closing it behind her, Rey got ready for bed, before making her way over to her small mattress and flopping down on it with an exhausted sigh, as she pulled the covers over top of herself.

She just hoped that tomorrow would be a better day.

Then again, at the rate that things were currently going, who knew what it would bring?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	26. Diverging Realities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Count Dooku searches for another bounty hunter.
> 
> Rey has another encounter with Qui-Gon Jinn.
> 
> Obi-Wan talks to Anakin about Satine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

The Count wrinkled his nose in disgust, as he entered the bar.

Mold curled at the corners of the ceiling and a musty, dank smell filled the room. It was rather dark too with only a few dim lights scattered here and there, then again, Darth Tyrannus supposed that that actually worked to his advantage, because the last thing he needed was for someone to recognize him here. Not only because he was a Sith Lord, but also because it would just be downright embarrassing for people to see Count Dooku mingling with such lowly life forms.

Double-checking that his hood still obscured his face, Dooku made his way up to the bartender, who eyed him with disdain, before gesturing with his hand as if to ask what he was having.

“I’m not here to drink,” the Sith replied lowly, keeping his yellow gaze on the man.

A look of disgruntlement overcame the bartender’s face in the shape of an angry scowl, “well, if you aren’t here to drink, then you mind as well leave my kriffin’ bar.”

A mixture of hatred and anger flared throughout Dooku’s very being, as his eyes glared daggers at the man.

“Go on then,” the bartender grumbled, flicking his hand in a gesture, as if to tell Dooku to go away, “if you aren’t going to drink, then get outta my bar.”

Done with the pleasantries, Dooku pulled his lightsaber from his belt, before setting it on the table in front of the bartender, directed so that if he flicked it on, it would head straight into the bartender’s stomach, impaling him.

“Do you know what this is?” The Sith hissed in a low whisper, as the bartender blanched at the sight of the curved weapon, “it’s a lightsaber. Now, I’m going to ask you a question and you’d best answer me, because otherwise I think I’d rather enjoy driving this straight through your gut, while I get the pleasure of watching you squirm for your insolence, until the light fades from your eyes and you succumb to a well-deserved death. After all, the galaxy would be better off without scum like you tainting it.”

Still seemingly shocked by the whole situation, the bartender's eyes turned frantic in surrender. “What do you want from me?”

Dooku smiled, finally they were getting somewhere. “Well, you serve all the scum of Coruscant, so tell me,  _ friend. _ Where might I find a good bounty hunter?” Dooku's cold gaze slithered across the man’s features, as he worked to assess him, “and please, no tricks, or I’ll have no qualms carving your heart right out of your chest.”

The bartender gulped and watched Dooku with a stress-ridden gaze, “there’s a Clawdite, who lives not far from here,” he surrendered, “her name’s Agaria Clammath. She’s one of the best.” The man quickly then went to grab a napkin and a pen, writing down the directions, as to where Dooku could find her.

Dooku nodded with a shark-like grin, “thank you,” though his words were devoid of any true meaning. Then, he grabbed the napkin and turned to head off into the night.

Yet, before he could, the bartender seemed to have more to say, “at first I thought you were a Jedi, what with your laser sword, but now I’m not so sure,” he murmured.

Dooku just laughed, “of course I’m not a Jedi. I’m better.” Then, with a swish of his cape, he spun away from the bar and all of its inhabitants, off to go find his newest bounty hunter.

Agaria Clammath.

* * *

_ Rey walked through the beautiful jungle forestry of Ajan Kloss with Ben, Poe, Finn and BB-8 at her side. Finn and Poe bantered up ahead with BB-8 right on their heels, while Ben hung back a couple meters with her, as they held hands, walking side by side. _

_ Birds chirped and swooped through the air from up above. The atmosphere of everything was just so hopeful and full of light. _

_ The sun shone down from up above and Rey knew that this reality was a paradise. There was no First Order, no Final Order, no Snoke, no Palpatine, no Kylo Ren. There was simply only peace and contentment. _

_ In this life, everyone was free to just be. _

_ She watched as Finn, Poe and BB-8 finally stopped once they’d come upon the slope of a hill, as if waiting for her and Ben to catch up, which they soon did. _

_ A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, as she listened to Ben join Finn and Poe in their banter, as the five made their way down the hill and into a beautiful meadow. _

_ For a moment, Rey almost gave pause, because she didn’t remember Ajan Kloss having many meadows, but almost as soon as the thought entered her mind, it was gone. _

_ Everything was perfect, just how it should be. _

_ And then it all disappeared and she found herself face to face with the one who called himself Qui-Gon Jinn. _

_ A flare of disappointment ran through her, as she realized that she was dreaming. For, of course such a reality would never come to pass, because there had been a First Order, a Final Order, Snoke, Palpatine, Kylo Ren and now her and Ben were in the past. _

_ Any hope of such a reality seemed impossible. _

_ “Why were Ben and I sent back into the past?” _

_ The former Jedi Master shrugged with a look of indifference, “I already told you the answer to that question.” _

_ Frustration creased Rey’s brows, “no, you didn’t actually, you just gave me a cryptic, jumbled mess of words that make absolutely no sense.” She watched, as an odd look overcame Master Jinn’s face, almost as if she was reminding him of someone. _

_ Qui-Gon Jinn finally just sighed, “you know enough, Rey.” _

_ She narrowed her eyes, as a flicker of annoyance ran through her, “fine, then maybe you can answer this question. How are you planning to guarantee that Ben and I don’t accidently wipe ourselves from existence, Master Jinn? I mean the man that we’re trying to dispose of is one of my… one of my  _ **_ancestors_ ** _ ,” Rey choked on the word, “how do we avoid paradoxes, if our very actions threaten our own lives?” _

_ Master Jinn eyed her with a look of surprise, as if she was missing something very important, before it morphed into a look of pity, making Rey suddenly very uncomfortable and now a bit unsure if she truly wanted an answer to the question. _

_ “I thought you’d have figured it out by now,” Qui-Gon Jinn sighed, “but I suppose not.” A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between the pair before the former Jedi Master finally spoke, “Rey… I don’t believe that you completely understand how time travel works.” _

_ A flicker of fear flared throughout Rey’s very being, “what do you mean by that?” _

_ “Rey, in going back into the past, you entered a new timeline. The one from which you came is now beyond you, for in that timeline, you simply no longer exist, since you’re here now, I suppose to say it in the simplest of terms. However, Force willing, if you make it through to the end of this, you and Ben will be provided the choice to go back or stay here,” Qui-Gon let out a breath, while Rey stared at him, increasingly horrified by this new revelation, “anyways, paradoxes are impossible, solely because this timeline is separate, but with the same past and players, from the one of which you came. The only difference here is you and Ben. I suppose that you could think of it as an alternate universe,” Qui-Gon paused for a moment, before continuing, “after all, if you were sent back into the past of your own timeline that would hardly work, because many of the moves that you’ve already made have had a high probability of making grave changes to who you are as a person or even ending your presence altogether, which means that you would no longer exist as this version of yourself, thus making such a thing impossible,” Qui-Gon passed a thoughtful hand through his beard, “that Rey, is why you are in an alternate timeline.” _

_ Rey’s breathing quickened with anxiety and her heart felt like it was about to explode in two. If what Qui-Gon was saying was right, then it was actually rather probable that both her and Ben could be wiped from existence and no one would care or even notice. _

_ Would that mean that Finn, Poe, Luke, Leia and everyone else who’d ever mattered to her could be wiped away to? Just like that? _

_ Yes, her mind supplied, they very well could, and more than that in her own timeline, did they now think that she’d died on Exegol? Probably, unless she and Ben were able to go back. _

_ The thought almost destroyed her. _

_ “Why?” Rey cried out, “why?” Her fists clenched and unclenched, as she began to fully realize the implications. _

_ Qui-Gon just watched her with sad eyes, “‘why’ what, Rey?” _

_ “Tell me, why we’re here. Why… why couldn’t The Force just have allowed Ben to live. We could’ve figured things out and then, I’d still have Finn and… and Poe and BB-8. I wouldn’t just have to constantly do The Force’s bidding. So, why?” She cried out, as pain unfurled throughout her very being. _

_ “To have been blind is to-” _

_ Rey cut Qui-Gon off before he could finish his mantra. “You’ve already told me that and I still have no clue, as to what it means. So, let me get this straight. The Force sent Ben and I back into the past for some strange reason that we only have a nonsense riddle to try and figure out, ripped us away from our timeline, thus leaving us with the possibility of erasing ourselves from existence, Finn and Poe probably think I died on Exegol, and… and a bunch of other things that I just can’t think of right now! Why couldn’t The Force just let us live in peace, Master Qui-Gon Jinn, why couldn’t Ben and I just be happy for once? Why does almost everyone always leave me behind to a life of seemingly eternal hardship and tough decisions!” Tears cascaded down Rey’s cheeks, but she couldn’t find it in herself to even care or be embarrassed. “Is a peaceful, quiet life too much to ask for?” _

_ The former Jedi Master eyed her with a look of infinite sadness, “I know, Rey and just as I said earlier, if you fulfill the wishes of The Force, then you and Ben can choose which timeline you wish to follow. Until then, there’s simply nothing more that I can really say.” _

_ A blinding colorless light filled Rey’s senses. _

She awoke with a gasp and for a long moment just laid there in bed, silent tears slipping down her cheeks, as she thought about all of the terrible implications that surrounded her and Ben being in the past. It quite honestly, really made her head hurt. Then, as Rey realized that if she waited any longer that she’d miss her scheduled meet-up time with Ahsoka, she forced herself to get out of bed and get ready for the day.

* * *

It was midafternoon when Obi-Wan came by again to pull Anakin out of his state of now seemingly eternal state of boredom.

The Halls of Healing were the absolute worst and if Healer Che wasn’t constantly having an eye kept on his room, he would’ve already snuck out by now. It was just so agonizingly torturous having to wait docile in here, when he felt like he should be doing more out there.

So when, the familiar face of Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared, Anakin was relieved, because finally, he’d have someone to talk to, rather than just having to sit there with sleeping being his only real option. Plus, on a side-note, maybe Obi-Wan would even help him escape, because Anakin knew that after all, Obi-Wan also hated the Halls of Healing just as much as he did and would probably understand and resonate with his predicament.

“Hello there,” Obi-Wan greeted, before closing the door quietly behind him, “how have you been, old friend?”

Anakin watched, as his brother took a seat in the chair at his bedside.

“Alright, I suppose,” Anakin shrugged, from his elevated position, before his eyes suddenly seemed to come alive with a spark of curiosity, as he remembered the tail end of their last conversation, “so are you going to tell me who that special someone is?” He teased, to which Obi-Wan just shot him an annoyed look.

“Anakin…” he protested, but Anakin just shrugged, not up for games.

“Please Obi-Wan, I’m really curious about this mysterious woman.”

For a long moment there was a great span of silence from his brother and just as Anakin began to lose hope, words suddenly sounded from Obi-Wan’s mouth.

“Her name is Satine,” he began, as a fond look overcame his kind blue eyes.

Anakin’s eyes widened with a mix of shock and surprise, “you mean Duchess Satine of Mandalore? I thought you couldn’t stand politicians.”

“Most politicians, Anakin,” Obi-Wan corrected, “Satine was and always has been… different from the rest. I met her on a mission with Master Jinn,” his eyes flickered with a brief sadness as he mentioned of his former Master’s name, “there’d been an uprising against her rule on Mandalore, leading to a civil war and when the conflict became too much, the Jedi Order felt the need to intervene,” Obi-Wan paused, his gaze seeming to get lighter, as he immersed himself in the memories, “we were constantly on the run with no certainties, as to what the next day might bring for nearly a year. The insurgents sent a seemingly endless stream of bounty hunters after us, so those months were filled with grand challenges and adventure, but somehow with her there…” Obi-Wan paused, as if he didn’t even have the words to describe how Satine made him feel, “somehow with her there everything was just… just lighter,” he finally decided. “Afterwards, once the uprising was defeated, she returned to her duties on Mandalore and I returned to my duties as a Jedi. Still, I’ve never forgotten about her and no matter what the Jedi Code says she’ll… she’ll always hold a very special place in my heart,” Obi-Wan confessed.

“Sounds romantic.”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan chided again, shooting his former Padawan an exasperated look, but then he gave pause, as he seemed to actually consider Anakin’s statement, “though I suppose it was. Still, that was a long time ago and it’s been years since we last saw each other. From what I’ve heard though, apparently, she’s managed to bring about peace on Mandalore, which is inspiring, given that planet’s history with their conquering warrior past,” he paused, deep in thought, “I have hope that I’ll eventually see her again, but only time will tell.”

The two fell into silence, lost in their own thoughts, before finally, Anakin spoke.

“We should pay her a visit,” he offered, hardly subtle.

A flicker of longing filled Obi-Wan’s eyes, as if he wanted to do just that, but then he just shook his head with a sad smile, “while in another lifetime, I would leap at that chance, I can’t right now, Anakin. It’s best that we just leave things as they are… at least for now.”

With a disappointed sigh, Anakin acquiesced to Obi-Wan’s wishes and once more, the two fell into silence, before discussing much lighter matters, and when Anakin asked Obi-Wan if he’d help him escape, just as he was leaving, Obi-Wan declined, much to Anakin’s chagrin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	27. Evasive Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka hangs out with Barriss Offee.
> 
> Rey guards Palpatine.
> 
> Ventress begins to reevaluate the Jedi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

After Ahsoka had dropped Rey off at the Senate Building, she quickly made her way back to the Jedi Temple to go check on her Master and see how he was doing. Yet, just as she was about to round the corner and head into the Halls of Healing, she suddenly found herself face to face with Barriss Offee, who she quite honestly hadn’t really seen since a mission a few weeks ago.

Butterflies fluttered in Ahsoka’s stomach, happy to see Barriss again.

“Ahsoka!” Her... friend greeted her in her pretty Coruscanti accent, as a kind light filled her blue gaze, “It’s so nice to see you again.”

“Barriss, hi,” Ahsoka greeted in turn, before shooting her friend a curious look, “why were you in the Halls of Healing?”

The Mirial Padawan frowned, “my Master was recently injured in a battle,” a brief flicker of unease swam through her friend’s gaze, before disappearing entirely, “but she’ll be fine again soon enough.”

Ahsoka eyed her friend with a worry-filled gaze. She didn’t like to see her hurting in such a way, “I’m sorry, Barriss,” she apologized and then paused for a moment before continuing, “I was just going to check on my own Master, since he overexerted himself yesterday, but I guess, I can just go visit him later, instead. I doubt he’ll mind anyway, since Master Kenobi’s bound to go check up on him soon, anyways. Would you want to go do something?” Ahsoka knew how stressful and painful it could be to see your Master get injured on the battlefield, since after all, she was Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice, which meant that that happened a lot, so she decided that it’d be best to help get Barriss’s mind off of the whole thing.

Barriss seemed to think it over, before giving a small nod of her head, “that sounds lovely, Ahsoka,” she then paused, as she seemed to deliberate over what they could go do, “I suppose we could go to a Meditation Garden, if you’d like,” she finally decided.

Ahsoka smiled, “sounds great.”

* * *

Upon arriving at the Senate Building, Palpatine had been quick to greet Rey with a grandfatherly smile that made her incredibly uncomfortable, given the circumstances, before diving into a long discussion with her about the Opera they’d seen the previous night.

Rey did her best to nod along to what he said, along with verbally agreeing with what Palpatine said whenever it was appropriate.

Still, her mind was elsewhere. Rey could not stop thinking about that dream… or vision… or… or... quite honestly, Rey wasn’t quite sure exactly what to call it, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that Master Jinn had said.

She was stuck here with Ben, with nothing but a jumble of words to guide them on their path.

_ To have been blind is to see everything and to see the balance is the only way to restore what was lost. _

What was that even supposed to mean? 

Rey had no clue.

Then, there was the whole impossible decision that she and Ben would now have to make, what with the whole timeline thing. For if they completed their mission successfully, they’d apparently now be given the choice of either staying here in a galaxy, where her friends from her original timeline had a fairly high likelihood of being erased from existence entirely and even if she ever did get to see Finn and Poe again, she’d be old and gray. An elder in their eyes. Plus, the Finn and Poe of her own timeline would probably think that she’d died on Exegol with not even a body left to recover for a funeral. Still, if they stayed here, Ben would be exonerated from his past crimes and they could live out peaceful lives on some nice planet, maybe Chandrila. She remembered Ben had once mentioned that that was his homeworld. If not there, then maybe Naboo or Alderan… she’d heard it was beautiful there, before it was blown to smithereens by the Imperials. Maybe they could even build their own family. The thought made her smile. However, if they decided to go back to their original timeline, while Rey would be able to see Finn, Poe and everyone else again, Ben would most likely be processed for his crimes and maybe even sentenced to death.

So, Ben or everyone else.

That was the choice that had to be made.

Rey wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. Why couldn’t she just have both?

Noticing that the Chancellor’s mouth was still moving, as he continued to talk about the Opera, Rey did her best to refocus on the conversation, so that Palpatine didn’t get the wrong idea and think that she was boring him, when she was just starting to get so close to him.

“...fascinating. Sattia loses everything, all because the system surrounding her was far too relaxed and weak. That’s the thing that you truly have to realize, my dear Rey. For in having no real military or even strengthened borders, it was easy for the society to succumb to corruption,” he smiled warmly, almost making her shiver, “and that’s why we have people like you protecting the peace and doing what is necessary, in order to preserve it, because after all you can’t have peace without the proper guidelines set in place.”

“Of course, Chancellor,” Rey nodded, although unease churned in her gut, as she was able to give a pretty solid guess about what Palpatine was truly talking about when he said that he wished to “preserve the peace.”

The Dark Lord of the Sith sighed, “still, I’d assume that it must be hard to be a Jedi, my dear Rey, what with always having to be so selfless and constantly repressing your emotions,” he paused, before laughing, “I doubt I could ever do it.”

_ I know. _

However, instead of voicing that thought, Rey simply shook her head in protest, “I’m sure you’d do wonderfully, Chancellor.”

Again, Rey found herself wondering why he was being so upfront with her. Constantly, he seemed to be trying to poke subtle holes in the Jedi Order, while simultaneously working to find some kind of common ground with her.

Perhaps he was…  _ no _ , the sudden thought filled Rey with a deep dread that took almost all of her strength to block out Palpatine from. Rey did her best to push the dark thought away, but still, it stubbornly persisted, because it quite honestly made total sense. After Palpatine had seen her power,  _ felt it, _ when she’d healed Ventress, he must’ve developed an interest in her. It all made sense, what with him only inviting her to the Opera, complementing her and telling her that she could always confide in him.

She didn’t know how she hadn’t seen it sooner.

Palpatine wanted her to be his apprentice.

* * *

Ventress stared defiantly into Mace Windu’s guarded eyes.

For the past couple of hours, he’d been working to get information out of her and yet, so far she’d said nothing, not even uttering a single sound. 

The Jedi were cruel, merciless beings, no matter what they told themselves at night.

It was their fault, after all, that her first Master had been left to rot on Rattatak for about a decade, which had eventually led to his death, when that sniper struck him down. Ventress still remembered the look on that sniper’s face, when she’d enacted her rightful revenge. The face he’d made, of sheer terror and fear, was one that she hoped to see on all of the faces of the Jedi one day.

They’d taken everything from her and yet, then there was that girl. The girl who had saved her from death’s cruel grasp.

Quite honestly, Ventress still didn’t really understand why the girl had chosen to do what she did. For she was a Jedi and yet still, she had given Ventress, a dark side user, life.

It left her in a whirlpool of conflict, as a small piece of her wondered if it was possible that her ideals and outlook on the world could be wrong, in part. That perhaps at least not all the Jedi were uncaring 

Of course, she refrained from letting Master Windu catch her in such a troubled state.

“Why were you after the Chancellor?” The Jedi Master seemed to ask her for the millionth time. Still, Ventress remained silent and dead still, with only the smallest of smirks pulling at her lips.

Her eyes flickered over the Jedi Master, as she absently wondered if he too had ever had any doubts about everything that he stood for.

She doubted it. He looked pretty set in his ways.

Still, looks could be deceiving.

That was one of her biggest problems with the Jedi. They were stubborn and seemed to be forever stuck in the ways of old. That’s where she knew, for a fact, that the Sith were better, because while pretty much every single Jedi seemed to be stuck in the past, the Sith were flexible, constantly evolving and willing to do what was necessary rather than just stick to the original cookie-cutter plan of ancient ways.

The Sith knew how to survive and never gave up no matter what it took.

Yet, as once more, the image of the woman entered her mind, she found herself walking a tightrope, about to fall and yet, unsure as to which side she would land.

Amusedly, she watched as Master Windu continued to question her without even really listening anymore. Yet, after several more minutes of his annoyingly superior sounding Jedi voice filling her ears, she finally decided to put an end to it all and instead, work to get something for herself.

Clarity.

“Mace darling, while I would love to chat. I’m afraid I’ll only talk to that girl with the white lightsabers. Bring her to me and then, maybe I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Distrust and a flicker of unease swam through Master Mace Windu’s eyes, but still, he acquiesced to her request, upon probably realizing that it was really the only way to possibly even get close to the information that he wanted.

Despite her conflictions, due to the mysterious girl, Ventress once again found herself amazed at just how predictable and easy to manipulate all the Jedi seemed to be.

They’d be so much more effective, if only they just threw a little more torture and fear into their interrogations.

* * *

It was late when Rey got back to the Temple. 

Ahsoka had brought her friend Barriss along, who seemed nice enough and while the two had chatted, Rey had mostly just found herself lost in her thoughts, as she thought back on everything that had changed and furthermore, the grand implications that such changes now probably had in store for the galaxy itself.

The fact that Palpatine wanted her as an apprentice chilled her to her very bones and yet, at the same time that meant that now, if things continued to go the way that they were, there’d be no Darth Vader. So that was definitely a plus. Anyways, Palpatine’s attention was something that they’d wanted all along, in order to take him down with evidence and now, they were just one step closer to obtaining that.

Yet, never in a million years had Rey ever expected that Darth Sidious wanting her as his next apprentice was probably going to be the reason that they were able to get close enough to him to get incriminating information.

After bidding Ahsoka and Barriss goodnight, Rey turned towards the Halls of Healing with the intention of talking to Ben about everything that had happened, when suddenly an unknown Jedi with perfect posture and serious brown eyes, stalked over to her.

“Master Rey, I presume?” He guessed in a no-nonsense tone of voice, while eyeing her with that touch of suspicion that she’d grown used to seeing in the eyes of many of the Jedi in the Temple.

She nodded, acknowledging that she was indeed who he was implying, yet found herself at a loss, as to why he would choose to seek her out.

“I’m Master Mace Windu, now please, come with me,” he ordered, before disappearing down a lonely hallway, leaving Rey to scramble after him, while wondering where exactly he was taking her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	28. Whispers of Untold Futures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dooku’s new bounty hunter, Agaria Clammath, gets ready to carry out the assassination of Anakin Skywalker.
> 
> Rey talks to Ventress and Ben.
> 
> Anakin is troubled by terrible visions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Agaria Clammath was having a good day.

Some man dressed in some of the most extravagant attire that she’d ever seen had come up to her, offering her enough credits to never have to do another job ever again in her life, and all that she had to do was eliminate a Jedi.

While of course, killing this Jedi, who was apparently called Anakin Skywalker, would not be easy, the money sure made up for it. Agaria would do anything to make sure that this mission was completed… no matter the cost. Plus, the Jedi brought more harm to the galaxy than good anyways, so it’d hardly be much of a loss.

She knew that intimately.

Agaria’s eyes flickered over to her young daughter, as she played with a toy spaceship that she’d been able to scavenge in the rubble of a junkyard a couple of weeks ago.

Every day, more and more, she reminded Agaria so much of her father. 

He’d been a pilot once, back when he was still alive, and more than that, had once been all of the stars that made up her galaxy. She smiled bittersweetly, as she remembered his charming smile, wisecracking jokes and ability to seem to always know how to brighten up her day or make her smile.

She missed him terribly and hated the Jedi for his untimely death.

It’d been an oddly cold day on Coruscant, the day he’d died, so they’d stayed in doors. Back then, she hadn’t been a bounty hunter- or rather she had been, one of the best really, but after starting a family with the love of her life, Lann, she’d thrown that life away in favor of the one that had only just been beginning, until the Jedi took everything from her. A skirmish had broken out, over what, she wasn’t quite sure. All that mattered was that the Jedi had chased the assailant in a fast-paced speeder chase until he’d crashed into their apartment complex.

She and her daughter had been lucky, but her husband, on the other hand, had not.

The Jedi had never even apologized for what they’d done, as she’d gathered the body of her dead husband in her arms, while her daughter had screamed and cried, begging her father to stop “sleeping.” All that the Jedi had done in an attempt to compensate for the tragedy was that a tall Togruta man had come up to her and told her that The Force would be with her.

What was that even supposed to mean? They’d taken everything from her and they couldn’t even properly apologize, instead just telling her that an all powerful God-like thing, that she wasn’t quite sure that she even believed in, would be with her.

It was madness.

So yes, she would carry out this job for the money, for her daughter and for Lann.

The Jedi needed to understand and more than that, they needed to pay for what they’d taken from her family.

* * *

Rey was genuinely surprised when Master Windu led her to Ventress’s cell, dropping the shield momentarily to allow Rey entry, while two Temple Guards stood on standby, just in case anything went wrong.

“She’ll only talk to you,” the Jedi Master confessed, before quickly adding “I want a detailed report, as to who sent her and why she was there.” Then he quickly spun around and disappeared back from where he came, leaving her alone with the Zabrak woman.

For a long moment there was silence, as if the two were waiting to see who would speak first, until finally Ventress spoke, seeming to have lost her patience.

“I’ve been going over a million scenarios in my head,  _ Jedi,” _ the woman spat out the word like it was a curse, however Rey still didn’t exactly feel as much venom behind the word as she would have expected from an avid user of the dark side, “and still, I find myself at a loss.” Ventress seemed to stare into the depths of Rey’s gaze, as though she were trying to break her down and analyze every atom that made up her very being. “Why did you save me? Why did you bring me back?”

Rey was surprised by having received such an upfront question, however, she supposed that it was indeed a valid one that she probably should’ve expected. 

“I only did what I felt was right,” she confessed with a small shrug, “I shouldn’t have tried to take your life in such a cruel manner… it… it was wrong of me to do so and so, I brought you back, in order to try and make up for my grave mistake.”

Rey watched as a flicker of surprise lit up Ventress’s ice blue gaze, before disappearing entirely, as confliction took over, once more.

“I see,” was all the woman said in reply, seemingly too lost in her own thoughts to say much else.

While part of Rey was interested in continuing to pursue this dialogue, she knew that she needed to do what Master Windu had asked.

“Who sent you?” Rey asked, but Ventress, who seemed to be way too lost in her own head, at the moment, to be paying much attention to her, didn’t respond. So, Rey repeated her question, albeit this time a bit louder.

Finally pulled from her thoughts, Ventress’s icy blue gaze settled on her own, while anger seemed to flare through her like an inferno at having her thoughts being interrupted. “Does it even really matter? No matter what I say, all of you Jedi- or at least most of you anyways- are always going to be definite in your ways. For even if I tell you, nothing changes for me. I’ll either rot here for eternity or be sentenced to death for trying to kill  _ ‘The Hero With No Fear.’” _ A disgruntled look overcame her face, “you know, the Jedi took everything from me,  _ everything,” _ she paused, “there was once a time when I was like one of you, but that time has long since passed, because one day I realized something. That no matter how good and righteous you all may appear to be, at the end of the day, there’s always an ulterior motive,” she paused her gaze darkening, “just like right now, in telling me that you saved me, because you felt bad for taking my life, when really, you just told me that so that I would become conflicted and spill everything to you,” the woman leaned forward, as her voice lowered to a hiss, “but, guess what, dearest? I won’t, because that’s where the Sith rise above the Jedi. For they are direct, whereas the Jedi are conflicting beings built upon unstable pillars of false truths, manipulation and impossibilities.” Hot pools of fire seemed to swirl in the woman’s eyes, as she stared daggers into Rey’s very soul.

Startled by such a show of impulse emotion, Rey flew into protest, “the Jedi are selfless and good. I mean, they-  _ we _ are peacekeepers!”

Luckily, not seeming to notice Rey’s slip in the heat of the moment, Ventress just shook her head with a painful darkness haunting her gaze.

“Perhaps they once were, but the days of those Jedi, at least for the most part, are gone. You call yourself peacekeepers and yet, you engage in war,” Ventress’s eyes narrowed in her heightening anger, “all of you are lying about your supposed greatness… to yourselves and everyone else around you, because this Order that you serve is corrupt. It’s  _ all _ corrupt,” Ventress let out a small burst of laughter, before falling back into silence and sinking into her thoughts once more.

After that whole scene, Ventress refused to say anything more, so after several more minutes of attempting to search for answers to the questions that Master Windu had given her, Rey eventually just gave up and left, telling Master Windu regretfully of her failure. 

The man only nodded, and Rey could tell that he was disappointed, before stalking off in the direction from whence she came.

Rey was just so done with today.

Still, she wanted to see Ben before the end of the day and so, she headed back towards the Halls of Healing with that in mind.

Upon entering, she wasn’t surprised to find him awake, despite it being such an odd hour.

“Hey,” she greeted exhaustedly, as she flopped down, defeatedly, in the chair next to his momentary bed.

Concern lit up Ben’s gaze, brightening the brown, as he observed her. “Hey… Rey are you alright?”

Once more, she was reminded of all of the weights of the galaxy that were being pushed down upon her and how it all just felt so unbearable.

She was still no closer as to finding out why her and Ben had been sent back, Palpatine now seemed to want her as his Sith apprentice, they were in an alternate timeline, they had to make an impossible choice… or rather she did, Ben had almost died, she’d had had an incredibly distressing conversation with Ventress and she just wanted it all to go away.

All of it.

“No,” she murmured quietly and the concern in Ben’s eyes got brighter, as he forced himself to sit up straighter, while hiding a gasp of pain at the movement that Rey would’ve noticed had she been more in the moment, “I’m not, Ben… I’m not.”

“You know you can tell me anything, right?” He asked, as his eyes stared into her own, but unlike with Master Windu or Ventress, the way he looked at her was just so full of love, care, kindness and worry.

It made her feel so much lighter- so much  _ safer. _

“I know,” she sighed.

So, she told him everything. About Qui-Gon and what he’d told her, how she was pretty sure that Palpatine wanted her as an apprentice, her fear for him during and after that fight, and her distressing conversation with Ventress.

The whole time, Ben was dead silent, just listening to her voice and letting her vent. However, as soon as she had finished, he was quick to speak.

“Palpatine’s apprentice,” he breathed out in barely contained shock, “that’s definitely not good, and even more than that, we’re in an alternate timeline…” a look of confliction took over his gaze, “with our only choices after we sort everything out, given that that we do actually sort everything out, being staying here or going back.” 

A deep sadness seemed to overcome him, “Rey, you do understand that I can’t go back, right?”

A distant look filled her gaze and she gave a small nod, “I know, Ben… I… I know.”

Slowly the sadness morphed into hurt, as he began to pick up on the context clues of the conversation, “are you… are you really considering going back?” Fear entered his eyes, “Rey, the Resistance will  _ kill _ me!”

A single tear slipped down Rey’s cheek, “I know… which is why I’m going to stay here with you,” she paused, momentarily, “because I love you, Ben Solo. Still, it’s hard for me to accept that I’m going to have to leave everyone else behind. Finn, Poe, BB-8, Rose…  _ everyone _ . Though I suppose that perhaps it isn’t the end. I mean, there’s still a chance that they’ll still exist, but with how much we’re changing, I quite honestly don’t know.”

Ben reached over to wipe the tear off her cheek, “I’m sorry,” he apologized, while looking regretful, “that was callous of me.”

Rey just shook her head, “no Ben, it’s alright. They’ll be fine without me, because they have each other and I’ll have you,” she smiled bittersweetly, “and at the end of the day, you’re the only one that I’ll ever need.  _ Ever.” _

* * *

After he was finally discharged from the Halls of Healing, Anakin spoke to Master Yoda about the ability that Rey had bestowed upon him and how he’d used it to save Obi-Wan, like Healer Che had advised him to do.

Surprisingly though, the ancient Jedi Master hadn’t seemed the least bit fazed. Instead he’d simply nodded along, before offering him some very Yoda-esque pieces of wisdom and advice that Anakin hadn’t really paid much attention to, because all he could think about was how odd it was that Master Yoda seemed to be one of the only ones who wasn’t reprimanding him, for using such a power.

As he made it back to his room, Anakin instantly made his way towards his bed, exhausted by the events of the day and all of the confusion built upon it.

Sleep claimed him almost instantaneously.

_ It was dark here and pain filled Anakin’s senses. However, strangely he was able to recognize that it was not his pain, but rather someone else's. Fear rose within him, as he realized that he wasn’t quite sure exactly whose it was, though. _

_ Finally, out from the depths of the darkness, a shadow slowly began to take form in front of him and so, Anakin instinctively reached towards his belt, searching for a lightsaber that surprisingly wasn’t there. _

_ The shadow continued to morph and change until finally it started coming into focus and Anakin found himself face to face with a young female Togruta, who looked up at him in fear. _

_ Ahsoka. _

_ “Master, help me,” his shadowy apprentice pleaded and Anakin reached for her, but his fingers only fell right through shape. “Help. Please, Anakin, I don’t… I don’t…” his apprentice disappeared, consumed by the shadows. _

_ “Ahsoka!” Anakin cried out, as his fear turned from a trickle into an outpour. “AHSOKA!” _

_ The crackle of a laugh sounded from somewhere behind him and he spun around, relief filling his gaze, as the shape of his Padawan made her way over to him. _

_ “Ahsoka, thank The Force,” he breathed, before his eyes suddenly narrowed in confusion and then widened in horror, upon closer inspection.  _

_ His Padawan was screaming at him in a wild rage, all accusations probably, but none of it reached his ears. The most disturbing things though, was that her eyes were filled with sickly yellow veins and the dark side clung to her like a barbed-wire blanket. _

_ It was just like his other visio- dream. _

_ There was something else that was off about Ahsoka too, but Anakin couldn’t quite place it. _

_ “I hate you!” His apprentice screamed from the darkness and then, suddenly he was falling into what felt like a black hole, pulling him away from it all and leaving Ahsoka alone in her suffering. _

“No!”

Anakin jolted awake in a cold sweat, while a migraine seemed to throw a rave in his skull. His eyes flickered over to the clock, to assess the time and was disappointed to see that it was only 0100 hours standard time.

Knowing that he would be unable to fall back asleep now after witnessing one of his worst nightmares for the second time, Anakin groaned, before resigning himself to just laying there in his bed with his eyes wide open and awake until daylight came.

Ahsoka would never turn to the dark side.

She wouldn’t betray him.

_ Right? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	29. Stunned and Gagged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben reassesses their situation on his first day back guarding the Chancellor.
> 
> Ahsoka meditates with Barriss.
> 
> Agaria Clammath sets her plan in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

After facing another week trapped in the Halls of Healing, Ben was elated to finally be let go of and return to normal life, or rather he supposed his version of normal life.

Quickly making his way towards Rey's room, he knocked on the door to find her already ready for the day with that hopeful smile of hers that he loved so much.

“Let’s go,” his _girlfriend, partner, soulmate(?)_ directed. Ben wasn’t quite sure what to call her, then again, he supposed it hardly mattered. He loved Rey and she loved him. That was enough.

He was a tad bit confused when neither Anakin or Ahsoka showed up to met up with them and Rey seemed to notice, as she was quick to update him on their situation, in how now that they’d been going to the Senate Building for so long- or rather she had, since Ben had been secluded within the walls of the Halls of Healing for about a week- that now they’d just go alone without Anakin or Ahsoka’s assistance, since they were needed elsewhere on missions and whatnot.

As they entered the building, Ben felt anticipation begin to stir in his chest. It’d been so long, since he’d last had to face Darth Sidious and quite honestly, he really wasn’t looking forward to having to do it again without getting to separate Palpatine’s head from his body.

As they took their positions next to the Chancellor’s desk, Ben watched as Palpatine engaged in an eager conversation with Rey about some Opera that he’d recently seen or rather he spoke and Rey listened with a nod of acknowledgement every now and then.

While Ben wanted nothing to do with the man, he hated that Rey was the one to grab his attention rather than himself.

His whole life he felt like he was just grappling for control. First when his parents passed him off to his Uncle for training, then during training with Luke, then with Snoke back when he was a Knight of Ren, and then with the Palpatine of his past, what with the whole Final Order thing. The only one he’d ever really felt like he’d gotten to make a choice with was Rey. He was with her because he wanted to be, not just because it seemed like it was the only option. After all, it would’ve been so easy to just stay with Palpatine and win with the Final Order, yet he just couldn’t do that, so he’d abandoned the Final Order and all of it, just so that he could be with Rey, because she was his person.

She understood him and let him make his own choice.

So now, once more, his control was taken away, as he was forced to be a bystander to Rey’s deadly dance with Palpatine.

And that was worse than torture.

* * *

Once again, Ahsoka found herself in the Meditation Garden with Barriss.

She felt all of the muscles in her body relax, as she slipped into a meditative state.

While under almost any other circumstances, Ahsoka probably would’ve never found herself in a place like this, since quite like her Master, she normally lacked the patience for meditating in her freetime, doing it with Barriss was quite enjoyable, because this way it wasn’t a chore, but rather a choice.

The Force flowed around and through her, as she sunk deep into its depths and the echoes of whispers of the past, present and future ricocheted in her mind, but none of it with enough clarity for her to really make out.

One with The Force and yet, still a singular entity all the same.

Her mind momentarily drifted to wonder how Barriss was doing in her own, respective, meditation. Ahsoka smiled as she imagined her bright yellow skin, striking cerulean blue eyes, and the pretty diamond shaped tattoos that arched up and over her curved nose.

Barriss truly was a beautiful woman.

With a start Ahsoka pulled herself away from such traitorous thoughts.

_There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is The Force._

Soon enough, Ahsoka fell back into her meditative state, but not before one last flicker of longing ached in her chest that she worked quickly to snuff out and repress.

After their meditation session, the two decided to grab some dinner. So, Ahsoka was quick to offer to go and get some take-out, in favor of whatever they had at the Temple.

* * *

It was time.

For about a week, Agaria Clammath had been planning and waiting for this moment. The day that would be the turning point for her to be able to give her daughter a comfortable life, and all the while, get her rightful revenge on the Jedi for all that they had taken from her family.

Her husband and daughter’s father, her happiness, stability and so much more.

They would pay, of that Agaria would make sure.

She watched as her target finally left the Temple, alone, as night began to darken the city.

Ahsoka Tano. Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan.

As a Clawdite, she had the ability to shift into the form of almost anyone she pleased. Of course though, this took a lot of hard work and practice, but among her people, she was one of the best. Even better than Zam Wesell, in many’s eyes. For her, this would be easy- at least to take on the girl’s shape and get close to her Master. Then, she’d just have to make sure that she didn’t get into any lightsaber fights or conversations that she needed background to talk about.

If everything went according to plan, this would all go very quick.

If not… then, she’d just have to improvise.

Light on her feet, Agaria trailed after Ahsoka through the city streets under the guise of a Twi’lek child until finally she got Ahsoka right where she wanted her, next to an abandoned alleyway.

Forcing herself to now look the part of the crying, terrified child that she was going for, Agaria ran up to the young Togruta female. 

The Jedi, while hardly just in their ways, would be inclined to help a young child. Of this, she was certain.

“H-help me!” She blubbered out, “th-they’re going to… th-they’re gonna k-kill… k-kill my m-mother.” Agaria forced herself to fall into a mess of sobs.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” she heard the soft voice reply from up above her, “I’ll help you, just show me where the bad guys are.”

Staring up hopefully into the Padawan’s bright blue eyes, she gave a small nod, as tears continued to fall in rivulets down her cheeks.

Without a second thought, she beckoned frantically for the Jedi Padawan to follow her, before bolting down the dark, abandoned alleyway with Ahsoka hot on her heels.

_Perfect._

Once they’d gotten deep enough into the alleyway to not be seen by any onlookers that would actually care enough to report anything to the proper authorities, Agaria finally came to a sharp halt.

“In… in th-there,” she stuttered, while pointing to an old worn down door.

The young Padawan nodded, as she made her way to the door and opened it, peering inside, only to unsurprisingly be met with darkness. The place was an old deposit for the drug trade in Coruscant, so nobody actually lived there.

“Little one,” she heard Ahsoka murmur ever so softly, “are you sure they’re here?”

“They have to be!” The imposter cried out, before succumbing to heavy sobs, “they have to be…” she fell to her knees.

Soon enough, just as predicted, the Jedi made her way over to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder with a small, reassuring smile. “It’s okay though, I’m sure we’ll find them eventually. Is there anywhere else that you can think of that they’d be?”

For a long moment, Agaria paused, wanting to sell her performance, before finally, she pointed deeper into the alleyway, “the bad men live down there,” she whispered fearfully.

Ahsoka nodded, as she made her way back to her feet and turned towards the direction that Agaria had pointed.

Then, in a blink or miss it moment, Agaria morphed from a tiny little girl into a towering, powerful Wookiee. With a quick slam of her fist against the girl’s head, she sent her spiraling to the floor, before pulling out her blaster, which was set to stun, and shooting the girl before she could do anything else.

From there, Agaria knew that she had to work quickly.

She made quick work of both tying the young Padawan up to a random pole in the alleyway and gagging her, after taking both of her lightsabers. Then, using her nanoalterator, a handy device she’d bought off of the black market, which allowed her to assume the clothes of her target, she scanned the young Padawan’s wear and then, set the programming of the device to have her own attire match up.

Then Agaria, who was now dressed up like Ahsoka, completed the switch, as she imagined herself as the Togruta Padawan with bright orange skin, marked with white stripes, curved montrals, both white and blue in color, and finally the startling blue eyes.

The familiar ripple of pain echoed through the woman’s limbs, as she completed the switch, but she ignored it. The pain was necessary if she wanted to provide a better life for her daughter and get vengeance on the Jedi for all that they had taken from her, because they would pay with the life of Anakin Skywalker.

After all, they’d taken a life from her too. It was only fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	30. Anakins and Ahsokas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agaria tries to kill Anakin.
> 
> Barriss searches for Ahsoka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Anakin sat in his room with a hot cup of caf warming his hands. Night was just beginning to fall outside, slowly engulfing everything in darkness. 

A twinge of worry flared through him, as he realized that Ahsoka still had yet to get back. However, just before he could shoot her a message to her comlink, he heard the familiar twist of their door knob and then, suddenly she was there.

Ahsoka.

At first glance, Anakin felt something was very off, especially since he couldn’t feel her force signature, which meant that she must’ve had some pretty heavy duty shielding up or something else…

Even odder was that Ahsoka didn’t even seem to notice what she was doing, as she just walked over to him in her usual chipper attitude.

“Hey, Master,” she greeted, taking a seat next to him.

“Hey Ahsoka,” he greeted back, then gave pause before adding, “are you alright? I can’t feel your force presence.”

He felt a burst of surprise and even odder, fear, explode within his Padawan, before disappearing entirely, as she turned to face him in confusion, “that’s odd, I’m fine and I don’t think I’m shielding.

Still, Anakin didn’t like this. Something was very wrong here, with Ahsoka, that whole exchange and well, just everything.

Before he could simply ponder on the subject anymore though, he felt a sudden prick in his arm and turned his now heavily confused gaze to Ahsoka, as he stood up and grabbed his arm where he’d felt the prick. 

“Ahsoka? What’s… what’s going on? What did you do?”

He watched with horror, as his Padawan stood up, before beginning to laugh maniacally, a cruel smirk etched into her features. “I did it, I did it,” she breathed in between laughs and suddenly it all began to click into place.

Something off, no force signature, weird mood swings...

Whoever this was, they were definitely _not_ Ahsoka.

This person had to be one of those shapeshifters then, like Zam Wesell.

_A Clawdite._

Anakin fumbled for his lightsaber, just as a sudden stab of pain stabbed at his heart, making him gasp in shock.

He forced himself to push as much of the gradually increasing pain as he could, off and away into the force, before flicking on his lightsaber, illuminating the room in a swath of fierce blue light.

He pointed it right at the Clawdite’s throat.

“Where is Ahsoka and what did you do to me?”

The Clawdite merely took a step back, “so many questions and so little time. Does it really even matter? You’ve been injected with poison and will be dead within the hour without help, which I will make sure that you don’t receive and your Padawan… well, she’s alright… probably.”

Anakin’s gaze darkened, just as a tenebrous, eerie light entered not-Ahsoka’s gaze, “it must be strange for you to see your apprentice like this,” she teased, “perhaps, I can make it better for you? Maybe alter the appearance a bit?” The Clawdite altered her eyes, making them Sith yellow, “does this make it better for you, darling?”

With a cry of rage, Anakin leapt forward and raised his lightsaber, in an attempt to strike the woman down. However the poison made his movements slow and sloppy, making it easy for not-Ahsoka to simply side-step him. Then, before he could turn around to face the bounty hunter again, he felt a sudden sharp kick to his back that sent him sprawling to the floor.

Anakin gasped for breath.

Not-Ahsoka was quick to grab his lightsaber with a harsh tug, eyeing it contemplatively, “you Jedi took everything from me, you know. I used to have a husband… Lan was his name. He was perfect in every way,” a small smile tugged at the Clawdite’s cheeks, “but one day he died, all because you Jedi have left your path of peace for one of war,” a look of pure, unadulterated rage took over not-Ahsokha’s face and illuminated her now Sith yellow eyes, “I hate you! I hate you all! You took everything from me! _Everything._ So, now it looks like I’ll just have to return the favor,” she hissed, igniting the lightsaber.

While under other circumstances, Anakin might have felt bad for the woman, he couldn’t quite find it in himself to feel very much compassion for his about-to-be murderer. 

Desperately, Anakin tried to push himself back to his feet, but his body refused to move from his position on the floor. Dark thoughts settled into him, as he realized that this could very well be his end. He hoped that the real Ahsoka would be found and that she wouldn’t blame herself for his death. Maybe Obi-Wan would finish her training for him. Anakin really hoped that he would be okay too and perhaps training his Padawan would help take his mind off of the pain, just like how Obi-Wan’s training of himself had seemed to make it easier for him to let go of Qui-Gon. Most of all though, Anakin hoped that Padmé wouldn’t be too heartbroken over his death and more than that, he hoped that some day, she’d be able to find happiness again.

The bounty hunter raised the lightsaber with a look of finality on her face, but just before she could bring it down, a sudden knock sounded at the door.

“Anakin? Are you in there? It’s Obi-Wan.”

A flicker of fear flashed through not-Ahsoka’s gaze and Anakin watched with relief as she disengaged the lightsaber. However, the woman’s fear seemed to be short-lived, as she began to shapeshift out of Ahsoka’s form until Anakin found himself staring up into his own eyes, sending a cold shiver up his spine.

Even odder, she pressed a button on a device on her wrist and the next thing he knew she was wearing... his clothes? 

Still, now that Obi-Wan was here, Anakin was filled with a new burst of hope. He just hoped that his former Master would be able to figure out which one was the real Anakin.

The imposter opened the door.

“Obi-Wan, someone’s trying to kill me,” the Clawdite blurted out, eerily in his own voice, eyes wide. 

Pseudo-Anakin pointed towards the real Anakin.

“Obi-Wan, d-don’t listen… Clawdite… ,” whatever poison he’d been given was definitely doing its job well. Already it was successfully managing to slur Anakin’s speech quite well, every movement he managed to make felt sluggish and weak and the pain that he was experiencing was simply next level. “Obi-Wan… please.”

Anakin watched, as wild confliction flared through his normally controlled former Master’s gaze. However, after only seconds, the Jedi Master seemed to have come to a conclusion, as he turned towards the imposter with surety, “you forgot about force signatures,” he remarked, before whipping his lightsaber out from his belt in a lightning fast movement.

The bounty hunter flicked on Anakin’s own lightsaber in turn, before engaging Obi-Wan. However despite that, Obi-Wan still managed to disarm the imposter within seconds, before pointing his lightsaber at their throat.

“Who sent you?” He demanded, his gaze in a deadly focus.

Refusing to answer, the bounty hunter instead transformed into a strikingly beautiful, blonde woman with accompanying regal-looking clothes, causing Obi-Wan to falter, as a rare look of horror crossed his face.

“How do you know?”

The bounty hunter just smirked, “I have my sources.” Then, she spun around, leaping out of the window and down into the Coruscanti traffic below.

Disgruntled that the Clawdite had escaped, Anakin found himself wondering who the girl was that had caused Obi-Wan such a shock, thus making him allow such a thing to happen, but then, it all suddenly started to click together.

_Satine._

Obi-Wan was right in his line of question. How did that bounty hunter know that? Yet, those thoughts were quickly vanquished for the time being, as his brother rushed over to him.

“Can you walk?” He distantly heard Obi-Wan ask, to which Anakin simply shook his head, because talking just seemed like it would be too painful at the moment. However, as he suddenly remembered the tenebrous allusion that the Clawdite had made towards his Padawan, he forced himself to do so, as Obi-Wan gathered his former Padawan in his arms, making him gasp in pain, as he started to rush Anakin to the Halls of Healing for direly needed immediate treatment.

“Obi-Wan… was fake Ahsoka… has ‘Soka,” Anakin let out a long series of dry coughs that left him struggling, even more so than he had been before, to breathe. Then, as he slowly regained awareness, he glanced down at his hands to see them spotted with blood.

_Well that’s not good._

He felt Obi-Wan pick up his pace until he was in a full on sprint.

As soon as they arrived at the Halls of Healing, Anakin felt himself being lowered onto a bed, as needles began to poke and prod at his skin, while Obi-Wan presumably did his best to explain what had happened, from all that he’d seen and heard.

“It’s going to be okay, Anakin. You’ll be alright and we’ll find Ahsoka,” was the last thing that Anakin heard his brother say before he fell into an abyss of darkness, as unconsciousness claimed him.

* * *

Barriss was worried.

It’d been a solid hour and a half and Ahsoka still wasn’t back yet. While, of course, she knew that Ahsoka was more than capable of taking care of herself, she still worried for her friend, since it really shouldn’t have taken her this long to go get them something to eat.

With a sigh, Barriss finally decided to try to contact Ahsoka through her comlink, however after several failed attempts, the Padawan found her worry starting to turn into that of general concern for her… friend. So without further ado, Barriss double-checked that her lightsaber was still clipped to her belt, before making her way out of the Temple and into the streets, off to go search for Ahsoka.

Barriss searched for remnants of her friend’s force signature, in order to attempt to track her and find her current location. She imagined her dark orange skin, deep blue eyes, decorative white facial markings, pale lekku, blue-striped montrals and soft brown-grey kissable lips…

Barriss yanked herself out of the direction that her thoughts were going. It was highly unbecoming of a Jedi to say the least, plus she doubted that Ahsoka felt the same way about her. They were friends, after all and that was all that they were meant to be.

Right?

Barriss jolted back to reality, as she finally managed to pick up traces of Ahsoka’s force signature. So, with a renewed vigor, she bolted off in the direction that the trail led her.

Something was wrong… terribly wrong and if she didn’t feel it before, Barris could now practically feel it vibrating in maddening waves through The Force.

She needed to hurry.

The trail led her to a darkened alleyway and she quickly turned into it, running at full speed until suddenly a body came into her sights.

A Togruta… _Ahsoka._

“Ahsoka!” Barriss cried, bolting to her very still friend, before putting a gentle hand to her throat to check for a pulse. Luckily, it was still there and pretty strong, which meant that Ahsoka must’ve only been knocked unconscious. However, upon closer inspection, Barris noticed a trickle of blood coming from the base of Ahsoka’s montrals, making her realize that the perpetrator must’ve hit her on the head to incapacite her.

Still, it made no sense. Why Ahsoka? Why not finish the job, instead of just tying her up?

After carefully removing the disgusting gag and ties, Barriss sent a gentle force suggestion to Ahsoka, in order to bring her back into a state of consciousness. She watched as Ahsoka blinked slowly at first, while confusion trickled into her eyes.

“Barriss? What happened?” However, before Barriss could even construct a proper response, by telling her that she quite honestly had no clue herself, she watched as a look of dawning realization suddenly started in Ahsoka’s gaze. “Clawdite,” Ahsoka blurted out, as she leapt to her feet, leaving Barriss to just stare at her friend in confusion.

“Ahsoka, what-”

“There’s no time! Barriss, we have to get back to the Temple now or I feel something terrible is going to happen, if it hasn’t already.” 

Ahsoka took off running and Barriss, with a million questions in her mind, but no time to ask them, followed in suit, as she chased after Ahsoka, at a full-out sprint, fueled by The Force.

It took them several minutes to get back to the Temple and by the time they arrived, they were panting and completely winded. 

Never in her life had Barriss ever run so fast for so long.

Just as they were about to enter the building, Barriss watched in surprise as Master Kenobi started making his way very quickly down the steps towards Ahsoka, both seemingly very lost in their thoughts. Before Barriss could warn the two of their impending collision, Ahsoka promptly crashed into the Jedi Master, sending them both sprawling to the ground.

“Ahsoka, are you alright?” Barriss called out, dashing over to her friend, just as Obi-Wan called out the Padawan’s name, in what sounded like confusion.

“Ahsoka?”

Barriss helped her friend to her feet and watched as she began to instantly apologize to the Jedi Master, before he promptly cut her off.

“Ahsoka, I was just about to go looking for you, Anakin said you’d been captured,” Obi-Wan paused to take a breath, “Anakin was poisoned by a Clawdite, posing as you from what he’s managed to tell us,” his gaze flickered between the two young Padawans curiously, before asking, “Padawan Offee, were you captured too?”

Barriss gave a small shake of her head, “no, Master Kenobi. Ahsoka was going to grab some dinner for us in the city and I got worried when she didn’t come back. So, I used the force to track her and found her bound and gagged. I helped her escape.”

“I see,” Obi-Wan nodded, accepting the offer, “Ahsoka, I think you should come with me to go see Anakin. Thank you Padawan Offee, for all that you’ve done, the Council will be happy to hear of your efforts.”

Then Obi-Wan turned, leading Ahsoka away, while Barriss starred on, as she watched them go, before heading to her quarters to retire there for the night.

* * *

Enica Clammath, only four years old, never saw her mother, Agaria Clammath, again, of that Dooku made certain, as the failed bounty hunter now laid dead in the deepest reaches of Coruscant with numerous lightsaber wounds mutilating her body and the killing blow, being a charred wound that led straight through her heart.

For another week, the girl would wait for the familiar face of her mother to come through the door, as hunger and dehydration slowly began to claim her.

In the original timeline, the girl would’ve gone on to forsake her mother’s ways as a bounty hunter and instead become the owner of a rather popular restaurant after the Imperials took over Coruscant. She would have married a wonderful, kind and caring Twi’lek woman by the name of Klaria Jannith and together they would’ve adopted a young Togruta girl named Nala Jannith-Clammath and a young human boy named Kane Jannith-Clammath.

They would’ve been so happy.

However, this was not the original timeline, for that was something that both Ben and Rey had made sure of.

Instead of any of that coming to fruition, Enica Clammath died at the young age of four, due to both dehydration and starvation, her-would-be wife, Klaria Jannith never found a partner and died depressed and alone, and their two children were never adopted and instead died alone, just as well, out in the cold, dark streets of Coruscant.

Still, it was only for the good of the galaxy that things had to be this way and thus, these fates could be pushed off to the side, most simply as unfortunate casualties of time travel.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	31. The Subtle Art of Ruining Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin comes to a dark revelation that he believes has to be true.
> 
> Ben makes a dire mistake in a moment of anger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

By the time that Anakin finally woke up, Master Healer Che had managed to purge all of the poison from his system.

He blinked a few times, wondering why exactly he was in the Halls of Healing, before attempting to use his arms, both metal and flesh, to lift himself off of the bed. However, before he could finish doing that, Anakin quickly found a hand on his chest pushing him back down into the mattress.

“Anakin, you need to rest,” a voice sounded from up above and he glanced up at the figure in confusion, as he tried to discern who it was.

_ Obi-Wan. _

“I feel fine,” he rebutted, “I don’t even know why I’m here.” Then with another forceful push, after the hand had been removed from his chest, Anakin stubbornly moved himself into a sitting position, facing the door and subsequently his Padawan, Ahsoka too.

None of this made sense. Why was he in the Halls of Healing and why were Obi-Wan and Ahsoka with him? Had something bad happened? 

Anakin searched his brain, but nothing came to mind.

“Anakin, you were attacked by a Clawdite. Do you not remember?” He watched, as concern began to lace his brother’s gentle gaze and as soon as Obi-Wan said the word “Clawdite” it all came rushing back to Anakin.

All of it.

He leapt to his feet and quickly made his way to Ahsoka, “did she hurt you?” He demanded to know, worry etched into his features, “if she did, Ahsoka, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

To his relief, his apprentice simply shook her head, “no, no, I’m alright, Master. Everything turned out fine.”

Anakin nodded “good,”

Quite honestly, Anakin didn’t know what he’d do, if any harm befell his apprentice, in a plot that seemed to be directed towards himself.

Then again, he would never let anyone or anything harm Ahsoka, as long as things were in his control.

That all, however, did lead to a peculiar question. Who was trying to kill him? Already, there’d been two failed attempts and they’d been so close together that they just had to be connected.

Anakin searched his memories, thinking of anything that could’ve led to this.

Anything that was out of place…

Ben and Rey.

The obvious answer hit him as hard as Dooku’s Sith lightning once had, because while of course, he’d never really trusted them, the thought that they could be behind all of this was just next level.

However, it all still managed to make perfect sense. After all, the first time they’d met, he, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka had literally caught the pair thieving. Then, the two had to have used some weird force mind trick on Master Yoda, because Anakin still found it incredibly hard to believe that he just let two seemingly rogue force-users into the Order without question, calling them Knights. Then, there was how they’d instantly been placed with the Chancellor as guards immediately after their arrival. Plus, that one, Ben, always seemed particularly uncomfortable in his presence for whatever reason.

Everything about them was just wrong and off somehow… even their force signatures were strange and otherworldly, Anakin had to admit. Then of course, there was also their oddly colored white plasma bladed lightsabers that held no discernible meaning in their color, as of yet.

This was their doing. It had to be, because there was literally no one else, who Anakin could think of, who fit the criteria better than they did.

After all, everything had been normal- or at least average, before they’d showed up. It was only after their presence at the Jedi Temple that all of these strange things started to occur.

“I need to deal with something,” he grumbled under his breath, as a dark feeling of finality encased him, before pushing past his apprentice and bolting out into the hallway.

“Anakin!” He heard Obi-Wan call out from somewhere behind him, surprise evident in his voice.

Anakin, however, ignored his brother and instead just focused on making his way to Ben and Rey’s rooms. They would pay for what they’d done. Of that, he would make sure, because more than anything, Anakin cared deeply about the ones he loved and those select people included Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. 

This time, Anakin would prevent any further harm from coming to any of them. He would not fail, not like he had failed with his mother.

As he ran, he narrowly missed colliding straight into Vokara Che, who glared at him, but didn’t say anything, probably already knowing that it would just fall on deaf ears. However, Anakin was sure that later on he’d get a long scolding lecture from her, whenever the chance just so happened to present itself and he was quite honestly fine with that, because all that mattered to him at the moment was finding Ben and Rey, and dealing with them appropriately.

There was no time for pleasantries, because who knew how long it’d be until Ben and Rey decided to enact their next plan.

It took him a full two minutes to get to Ben and Rey’s adjacent rooms. However, almost instantly, he was able to sense that they were both in Rey’s, which was actually quite beneficial to him, since this way he could take them both on at once without having to make two trips or risk one getting away.

For a moment, Anakin considered using a force push to dispose of the door, however he decided that perhaps a more subtle approach might work better, especially since in knocking he’d get one of them in range. Yet, as Anakin knocked on the door, he was surprised to hear a quick pattering of footsteps coming from behind him.

“Master, what are you doing?” His young apprentice panted, confusion alight in her eyes, while Obi-Wan stared at him with about an equal amount.

“They’re the ones who did this,” Anakin growled, his eyes narrowing and the blue seeming to fade a bit, “they hired the bounty hunters and got both of you caught up in it in the process. I should have… I should have seen it sooner, I’m sorry, but I won’t let this go on any longer… I will… I must stop it.”

Obi-Wan continued to just stare, seemingly beyond baffled by Anakin’s sudden revelation, “and you know this how?”

Anakin didn’t get a chance to give Obi-Wan a direct answer, as the door opened to reveal Rey, who looked at him curiously.

“Anakin, hi, is something wrong?”

An unsettling glower appeared on Anakin’s face, as he grabbed her by the neck with his metal hand, lifting her off the ground, before storming into the room.

“I know what you did,” he hissed, “this was all your doing.”

He stared holes into the girl, tightening his grip, as anger brewed within that of his very soul, while Rey gasped and twisted in his grip, as she reached for her throat and her legs kicked uselessly in the air.

She stared at him with a mix of shock, confusion and pain.

“Let her go, Anakin!” Obi-Wan yelled, as his eyes began to glaze over in shock at such sudden violence.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka just stared, since while Anakin had had his moments, she’d never seen him quite like this. 

“Let her go!” Obi-Wan yelled again, however this time with much more emphasis placed upon his words.

Anakin refused until suddenly, he felt something collide into his side, sending him sprawling to the floor, only to see Ben standing over him threateningly, his white plasma blade lit. 

“Stay away from her!”

With a snarl of rage, Anakin pulled his lightsaber from his belt in a lightning-fast motion and lashed out at Ben with all of his pent up anger. As the duel began, Ben just managed to parry Anakin’s blade away from a hit that otherwise would’ve definitely severed his head from his body. 

Tension brewed in the air, as the two fought and while in any other scenario, the others would’ve tried to get involved, in order to stop the fight, it was becoming way too fast paced and dangerous to get involved without the probability of accidentally hurting or even killing one of the duelists.

“You did this!” Anakin cried, while lashing out wildly at Ben in his mastered Djem So, forcing him into a constant defense, “it’s your fault that Obi-Wan almost died and that Ahsoka was put in danger!”

* * *

Bewilderment filled Ben at such a harsh and seemingly unfounded accusation.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” He yelled back frantically, as he began to realize that he was truly no match for Anakin in this fight.

“Liar!”

“Anakin, stop!” Ben heard someone, maybe Obi-Wan yell in the background. Yet, it did nothing to halt the actions of his grandfather, even momentarily.

Ben gasped in shock as he was suddenly slammed into a wall in the corner of the room with a powerful force push. Deftly, he raised his lightsaber just in time to block his grandfather’s next aggressive Djem So attack. The sheer amount of anger emitting from Anakin Skywalker terrified Ben, as the man repeatedly continued to swing his lightsaber down again and again on Ben’s blade, bringing it dangerously close to his neck.

He felt like he was looking into a mirror, at the man he’d once been.

_ The lightsaber switched on and his father’s face contorted in pain and shock. _

Suddenly, Anakin disappeared from view, as he was presumably pulled away and Ben let out a sigh of relief, breathing heavily, as he disengaged his lightsaber and Rey helped him to his feet. However, upon seeing the bruises on her neck, anger filled Ben once more and he stalked over to Anakin who was now being restrained by both his Padawan and former Master, yelling out some pretty extreme Huttese profanities.

All Ben could see was red.

He didn’t know why Anakin had done this or even why he blamed him and Rey for supposedly placing Obi-Wan and Ahsoka in danger, but to think that he’d easily could’ve ended up killing Rey, had no one been there to stop it, boiled his blood with fresh, hot rage.

“You know, I used to look up to you!” Ben yelled without thinking, “I used to read all about Darth Vader and think that one day I wanted to be just as powerful as him and you know, what? It ruined my life.  _ You _ ruined my life, because in following you, I killed my own father in cold blood and basically led to the death of my mother too!” Ben laughed darkly, “I even worked with Sidious for a while, because I wanted to be just like you! The great  _ Darth Vader! _ At the end of the day though, I’m glad that I changed and that Rey pulled me back to the light, because without her, I would've followed your path and continued to lead a life of eternal regret and sadness! A path, that from the looks of it, you’re still currently on, right now! The dark side of the force took  _ everything _ from me!  _ Everything! _ And I hate you for it, Anakin Skywalker! I hate you,  _ Grandfather.” _

As soon as Ben had finished his mindless monologue, he glanced around to see Obi-Wan and Ahsoka eyeing him with a mix of confusion and horror, while Anakin just seemed even more angry with a hint of confusion lighting his gaze. Rey, however, just looked at him with big, sad eyes.

“Ben,” she whispered softly, “you really shouldn’t have done that.”

“Kriff,” Ben hissed through his teeth, immediately beginning to regret his actions in his moment of anger, as he threaded a hand through his hair, “kriff, kriff,  _ kriff!” _

“Grandfather?” Obi-Wan murmured, perplexed, as his unsettled gaze landed on Ben. “Who’s Darth Vader?”

“You worked with Darth Sidious?” Anakin breathed at the same time, “a user of the dark side?” A maddening dark glimmer overtook his gaze, as his brain seemed to pass by everything else.

Anakin ripped himself free of both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka’s grips, in their shock, and began to stalk over to Ben with a dangerous looking countenance.

Rey quickly moved to step in front of Ben, effectively blocking Anakin from immediately doing anything else that he could very well end up regretting, “he’s not a user of the dark side,” she informed him lowly, “not anymore.” For a moment Rey paused, as her eyes flickered over to the few couches in her room. “Sit down,” she finally ordered with a sigh, “I suppose that now we’ll have to explain everything.”

Guilt stirred within Ben, as he realized that this was partially his fault and began to instantly and deeply regret his words. He knew he shouldn’t have broken down like that, but it’d just been so hard not to, because what he’d said was true and already he found it hard to even be in the same room as Anakin, much less fighting with him. After all, whenever Ben laid eyes on him, he was instantly reminded of Darth Vader and subsequently, Kylo Ren and all the terrible things that he had done as him, while he’d worked to carry out his disgustingly foolish dream of finishing what his grandfather had started.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed to Rey, while his eyes begged for forgiveness.

“It’s alright,” she sighed in turn, shooting him a reassuring glance, “this was bound to happen eventually and there’s no going back now anyways... however I just wish that it could’ve been in a more controlled setting, to make things even a bit less complicated.”

Together, the two made their way over to the loveseat, while Anakin, who seemed content to just listen for now, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan occupied the couch, facing them. 

Obi-Wan looked beyond confused, Ahsoka looked perplexed, yet curious, and Anakin looked a mix of many things, but most of all, angry.

With one last glance at his grandfather, Ben got ready to tell them everything, alongside Rey, as he did his best to mentally prepare himself to talk about the most dark and horrid years of his entire life.

Back when he was Kylo Ren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	32. Recollections of the Old in the Land of the New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey tell Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka about their timeline’s past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Terror raced through Ben’s rapidly beating heart, as everyone turned to face him, starting with Rey. For while Rey definitely knew a fair amount about the past of their timeline, they both knew that he knew way more than she did and in much more detail, due to his more educated upbringing.

Still, he didn’t want to do this and he hated himself for putting himself in such a position in the first place. He didn’t want to have to tell them about Darth Vader, Darth Sidious or Kylo Ren.

Biting back a groan, Ben finally forced himself to speak, “well... I suppose I should start by saying that Rey and I are from the future… or  _ a future _ now, I suppose.”

Rey shot him an encouraging look, while everyone else just looked at him like he’d truly lost his mind.

“Maybe I slammed him into that wall a little too hard, Master,” Ben just managed to catch Anakin whisper to Obi-Wan, who shot his former Padawan a disapproving look, at the reminder of Anakin’s very un-Jedi-like actions from just moments earlier. However something in the normally collected man’s eyes also seemed to hint that he might actually agree with what Anakin had just suggested.

“You’re wrong,  _ Anakin, _ ” Ben growled in annoyance, despite understanding their hesitation to believe him, “and I can prove it.” 

Ben stood, as he made his way to the corner of the room and opened a padlocked box, before pulling the lightsaber that was once the Anakin’s of his time out of it.

At the sight of the lightsaber, Ben watched as Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan’s hands all flew to their belts, as if they thought he might lash out at them at any moment and judging by how crazy they currently thought he was, Ben quite honestly wasn’t very surprised, nor did he really judge them all that much, because under reversed circumstances, he would probably be reacting the exact same way too.

Taking a seat once more, Ben eyed the lightsaber for a moment, as a feeling of heavy sadness fell over him. 

This weapon had been through so much.

Finally, he lifted his bright brown-eyed gaze up from the lightsaber’s intricate workings, to meet Anakin’s expressive blue ones.

Ben lifted the lightsaber, so that his grandfather could see it better, “look familiar?”

For a long moment, a look of blank confusion simply laced the young Jedi’s gaze, washing out any remaining traces of anger for the moment being, before he finally seemed to realize the deep implications that the lightsaber held- that it was the same as his own.

“That’s not possible,” Anakin breathed, as he unclipped his own exact copy from his belt, before beginning to compare the two.

Ben handed the ‘saber over, so that Anakin could get a closer inspection and after a long moment, he finally handed the copy of his blade back to Ben, before clipping his own back to his belt.

Ben watched, as Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, who’d also picked up on the grand implications of the entire exchange stared at Ben and Rey in shock.

“Who are you?” Anakin demanded to know, despite his voice being barely above a whisper, as his perplexed brain seemed to be working double time, in order to try to piece all of the crazy information that he was receiving together.

Deciding to just rip off the bacta patch, Ben chose to simply just tell him without further preamble.

“Well… while I may no longer even exist in this timeline, in mine, I’m your grandson, Anakin.”

Ahsoka took in a sharp intake of breath, as she turned to face her Master, seemingly shocked that he’d broken the Jedi Code in such a seemingly extreme way. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan, on the other hand, looked surprised for a moment, before it all disappeared and total understanding seemed to dawn on his face.

“Padmé,” Obi-Wan sighed, shooting an empathetic look towards his friend, who had now stood up from his seat was currently glaring daggers at Ben, as horror flashed through his bright blue eyes, at the mention of his wife, before they darkened and his fist curled, as he once more launched himself at Ben, grabbing a fistfull of his shirt. 

A threatening glimmer flickered through the Jedi’s eyes.

“Tell me the truth! Who  _ the kriff _ are you?”

Ben grabbed Anakin’s hand, forcefully ripping it off of him, before shoving Anakin backwards, into the couch.

“I already did. I’m Ben Solo, son of Leia Organa, your  _ daughter _ in my timeline, and Han Solo.”

Obi-Wan raised a brow at the surname of “Organa,” but didn’t comment.

“Ben, are you sure we should really be telling them  _ this much?” _ He heard Rey nervously inquire at his side, but Ben just shrugged, no longer worried about implications of telling the three Jedi about the future that he and Rey came from- or past, since quite honestly time travel made the distinction quite confusing. After all, if Rey was right about the whole timeline thing, then it wasn’t like they’d run into any paradoxes in telling Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka everything- or rather almost everything.

“It’s not like it’ll do any grand harm,” he sighed back, “this timeline’s already gone through vast changes, anyways, and paradoxes are impossible to create.”

Ben watched, as the anger finally fled from Anakin’s gaze, although the horror still remained and was only heightening more and more with each passing moment.

Through the force, Ben practically felt like he was being suffocated by the sheer power of Anakin’s feelings and so he strengthened his shields a bit more, in an attempt to block out the powerful emotions as much as he could.

“The Force sent us here,” Ben continued, launching back into the explanation, “Master Yoda already knows. In our timeline terrible things come to fruition, so Rey and I are now here to prevent those things from happening.”

So, without further ado, Ben launched into telling the story of his and Rey’s timeline, starting from what he knew of the original Clone Wars, which wasn’t a lot, before moving onto Order 66 and Anakin’s betrayal of the Jedi Order.

All of the Jedi seemed horrified when he got to that part, but Anakin most of all.

“I will do such terrible things,” he breathed, seemingly on the verge of a full-fledged panic attack.

Part of Ben imagined that Obi-Wan and Ahsoka would want to put distance between themselves and Anakin upon hearing of his dark betrayal, but instead, he noticed that they only seemed to move closer to the distraught Jedi.

“The future is always in motion,” Ben managed to catch Obi-Wan reassuring his friend.

Taking pity on Anakin, Ben left out a lot of the darker details about his time as Darth Vader in his and Rey’s timeline, such as how he killed Obi-Wan, by instead, vaguely saying that Obi-Wan had simply died on the Death Star during a rebel attack. However, Ben did tell Anakin of how Padmé died, since her death was quite important in respect to all of the events that followed with Luke and Leia. This caused tears to trickle down Anakin’s cheeks from the pain of hearing of such a huge tragedy take place and Ben watched as Obi-Wan placed a kind hand on Anakin’s shoulder.

From there, Ben went on to tell the group of how Darth Vader had figured out that he had both a son and then a daughter, Luke and Leia, respectively and was basically Darth Sidious’s second in command. However, as soon as Ben got onto the topic of Darth Sidious, once more, he made sure to be careful to not accidentally give away the Dark Lord of the Sith’s identity, at least just quite yet. Then, Ben finished the story by telling them of how Anakin had ultimately come back to the light and killed the Dark Lord of the Sith, or so everyone had thought at the time, right before his own death.

He also made sure to simultaneously detail Luke’s growing up with the Lars family, as Obi-Wan watched over him, and how Luke had gone on to become a key figure in the Rebel Alliance alongside his sister Leia Organa and the renowned pilot and smuggler, Han Solo.

After that, Ben went on to vaguely speak of his upbringing on Chandrila, the voices in his head that had been planted there by Palpatine, his apprenticeship under Luke and his turn to the darkside, when he’d become Kylo Ren and tried to finish what Darth Vader had started

At the mention of his turn, a deep look of haunted guilt engulfed Anakin’s features, but Ben ignored it, not wanting his grandfather’s pity.

From there, he traded off talking with Rey, him talking about his time in the First and Final Order and her talking about both her time on Jakku and with the Resistance.

Ben noted how she refrained from mentioning that Darth Sidious was her grandfather, then again if Palpatine was his grandfather, he’d probably refrain from mentioning it too.

Then, as they brought their story to a close, they told the trio of their final stand against Darth Sidious and how they’d both sort of died, before ending up here in the past with a chance to stop such terror from ever encompassing the Galaxy.

Ben’s eyes flickered between the Jedi’s faces, as he worked to gauge their reactions once the story was finished.

Pretty much all of the emotions that he was able to draw from them were very mixed and contemplative.

Then, to Ben’s surprise, Ahsoka was the first one to speak, albeit timidly, “did I die during Order 66 or become an… an Inquisitor in your timeline?” She asked, as a glimmer of fear flickered across her gaze, although it vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

Ben slowly shook his head, as he thought back, “no… from what I heard you became a Rebel spy. However, I don’t know much more about what happened to you in our timeline, sorry.”

Despite him not knowing much, Ahsoka still looked relieved by his ability to nevertheless be able to at least answer her question and give her the answer that she presumably wanted to hear. Ben watched, as she then gave him a small nod of thanks.

A few more seconds of silence lapsed, while Obi-Wan just stared off into space, looking incredibly contemplative, Ahsoka seemed to fall back into deep thought and Anakin finally managed to stop the flood of tears coming from his eyes, now just leaving them red and puffy.

As Anakin met his gaze, Ben noticed that all of the hatred and anger that had only up until recently been raging there like a storm was now completely gone and instead, a now very broken looking man just sat before him.

“I don’t want to believe what you’ve told us,” Anakin sighed, truthfully, “but I can feel through The Force itself that you are not lying to us…  _ Ben,” _ Anakin’s voice cracked, “I am so sorry… about everything.”

Such words were one’s that he’d never expected to hear coming from his grandfather’s mouth and it almost choked him up just to hear it now, however Ben reigned in his emotions, for the moment being at least, and instead just shook his head. 

“It’s alright. You are not Darth Vader and have never even done any of the things that we just spoke of, so none of the blame falls onto you.”

While Anakin still seemed unsatisfied, despite the response that Ben gave him, almost like he was expecting him to lash out instead- maybe even hoping for it- he gave no mention of this and instead just accepted Ben’s acceptance of his apology with a small nod.

“Thank you.”

As Obi-Wan finally seemed to come completely back to himself, Ben watched as his gaze fell on his former apprentice, for a moment, as a sad, fearful gleam filled his eyes. At that moment, Ben recognized that the man seemed to be willing to do anything, in order to prevent Anakin from falling onto such a dark path again.

Once Obi-Wan’s gentle gaze had shifted away from Anakin, it turned to rest on both him and Rey, as he finally asked the biggest question of them all, “do you know who Darth Sidious is?”

A silence enveloped the room, as Ben and Rey turned their heads to shoot each other hesitant looks, both unsure about whether they should tell them or not, while the three Jedi suddenly turned very attentive and alert.

However, after a bit of deliberation, Ben decided that at this point, it really didn’t matter if they told them at this point, especially after everything that he and Rey had already told the three.

“He’s Chancellor Palpatine,” Ben told them in a practiced tone.

“That’s impossible!” Anakin predictably protested, “the Chancellor is my friend!”

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan stiffened and Ahsoka looked uneasy.

“Is he your friend? Really?” Ben inquired, “because it honestly just seems like he only befriended you to utilize your power for his own gain, whether it be in politics or as Darth Vader, at least from where I’m from… and Anakin, he  _ is _ the Sith Lord. Search your feelings if you still don’t believe me, because you know it’s true.”

“B-but he… he c-can’t be… he  _ can’t _ be…” Anakin exclaimed, almost seemingly to himself in his shock, while his rattled mind worked to make sense of all of the new information that was being bestowed upon him. “He can’t be…”

However, despite Anakin’s continued words of disbelief, Ben was able to discern the beginnings of acceptance on his face, as he began to think it over more.

“He is,” Ben clarified again, “that’s why Rey and I have been assigned to the Chancellor. We’re working on gaining his trust, so that we can get full proof of his guilt and take it to the Senate, before his plot can go any further,” he paused, unclipping one of the tiny, camouflaged recorders from his wear, “in order to get the proof, we’re equipped with these,” he explained, before reclipping the device back inside the pocket that it was currently taking up residence in.

Obi-Wan nodded, seeming to understand this line of thinking, however, Ahsoka, on the other hand, seemed a bit skeptical.

“Why not just pressure him into revealing himself now?” She asked.

Rey simply shook her head, “he’s smarter than that, it won’t work.”

Anakin, who luckily seemed to have finally wrapped his mind around the situation enough to at least be functional once more, snapped back to attention and thus, into the conversation. However, his eyes and posture now seemed to hold a much more serious look.

“None of you can tell anyone about my marriage to Padmé,” he ordered, his exterior seeming to radiate confidence, however, Ben could see right through him, because he was the exact same way in hiding his real emotions behind a layer of façades.

In Anakin, he saw fear. Fear for what would happen to both him and his wife, if they were found out.

Luckily though, the whole room seemed to agree with Anakin, washing his expression with what appeared to be relief.

However, shortly after that, Rey surprised everyone with what she said next.

“I completely agree with your statement, Anakin, however soon you won’t have to hide your relationship, of that I’ll make sure,” Rey paused for a brief moment, as if working on making sure that what she said next was said with perfect clarity, “calling love attachment was one of the many things that led to the downfall of the Jedi Order,” she grabbed Ben’s hand and small smile lit up his face, as he glanced down at their now intertwined hands, “for attachment is a possessive thing, whereas love can ignite the stars. After all, love brought Ben back from the darkness and even you, Anakin, in our timeline, when you came back to the light to save your son, Luke. So soon, I will make sure that you will be able to be open about your relationship to Padmé, so long as it is love that connects you and not attachment.”

A silence fell over the room and for a long moment no one spoke, until finally Anakin did, his voice cracking, once more.

_ “Thank you.” _

A few more moments of silence lapsed, before Ben finally spoke again, “you all must understand though that this is all highly sensitive information and that apart from you all, only Master Yoda knows, so you cannot tell  _ anyone, _ even if you trust them, we just can’t risk it.”

All three of the Jedi nodded in agreement with only a small amount of hesitation from Anakin.

Obi-Wan’s eyes centered on Ben’s gaze, deadly serious, “when the time comes, we will be there to help you,” the red-haired Jedi said with seemingly little room for argument and Ben gave a small, grateful nod.

“Of course, thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	33. Named Your Fear Must Be, Before Banish It You Can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka talk.
> 
> Ben and Rey guard Palpatine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

When Anakin had first stormed into that room, he’d never, in a million years, imagined that he'd end up having a conversation like that.

As he finally departed from Rey’s quarters with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, he actually found himself trembling at the shock of all the terrible information that he’d just learned about his alternate self, as he realized had Rey and Ben not shown up, he most definitely would’ve ended up becoming a Sith. Thus, killing his own wife, helping carry out Order 66 and doing so many other terrible things. 

Plus, to make it all even worse,  _ The Chancellor, _ a man who he’d trusted and considered to be one of his closest confidants, was the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Then, he still had no idea, in even the slightest, as to who was trying to kill him and felt terrible that he’d falsely accused Rey and Ben, who was apparently his  _ grandson, _ and almost killed them, had Obi-Wan and Ahsoka not intervened.

Anakin’s breath quickened and his heart felt like it was trapped inside of a rapidly closing trash compactor, as the thoughts sank in further, making them become more and more real.

Desperately, Anakin tried to release such thoughts into the force, but found it fruitless, as they just seemed to refuse to go away and leave him alone.

He felt like he was trapped in a nightmare.

A hand reached out to grab his shoulder and Anakin stopped, turning to face his brother, who now stared at him with a look of deep rooted sadness.

“Why don’t you come to my quarters for a bit, Anakin. We can talk there, alright?” Obi-Wan then angled his gaze to meet Ahsoka’s, “and you’re welcome too, of course.”

With a small nod of acceptance, because if he spoke right now, he knew that he would most definitely fall to pieces, he followed Obi-Wan down multiple corridors until they finally made it to his room with Ahsoka following just behind them.

As soon as the door opened, Anakin briskly made his way over to a couch, sinking almost instantaneously into its plush cushions, as he buried his head in his hands.

He sensed his Padawan and former Master taking seats next to him, shortly thereafter, but Anakin couldn’t bring himself to care or even look them in the eyes.

Not after everything that had happened.

Not after all that he had learned.

Anakin had sacrificed almost everything to become a Jedi. He’d left his mother behind on Tatooine to the gruesome fate of continuing to live out most of the remainder of her life as a slave, then he’d been unable to save her from the grasp of death at the Tusken Raider’s hands, because he couldn’t come save her in time, due to his obligations as a Jedi and then there was how he’d fallen in love with Padmé, but couldn’t tell the world of their love or marriage, since practically no one would understand and it would probably end ruining both of their careers.

Now that he’d learned that in that alternate timeline, all of his sacrifices had been for naught, because he’d not only lost everything that he’d sacrificed to be a Jedi, but he’d also lost everything that he’d gained as a Jedi too, self-hatred raged within him, as hot as the molten lava of Mustafar.

Instead of sticking true to his destiny and the man that he wanted to be, he’d betrayed everyone and everything in becoming Darth Vader.

A man who seemed like a monster, from how Ben had described him. A man who’d trained the Inquisitors, slicing off their limbs, when they didn’t do things correctly. A man who blew up Alderaan. A man who, to Anakin, seemed irredeemable.

He hated to think what might have happened, had that version of himself run into Obi-Wan or Ahsoka, because Anakin could tell that Ben had definitely left some pretty big holes in the history of his and Rey’s timeline, so he was sure that he’d been trying to protect him and thus Anakin probably did.

The thought hurt.

A lot.

Anakin imagined himself as that man, cutting down Obi-Wan or Ahsoka or maybe even both and even just the thought of such a thing made him shiver in response. He wondered how it had ended, if such a thing really had occurred. 

He wondered if he’d felt bad about it at all, as Darth Vader, or if he’d even hesitated in the slightest.

A collection of sobs drew Anakin’s focus back into the present and for a moment, he wondered who it was, until he realized that it was himself.

“You aren’t Darth Vader, Master,” he heard his Padawan attempt to reassure him, while Obi-Wan did his best to comfort him with a caring side hug, “you’d never do the things that Ben spoke of.”

“But I did,” Anakin’s voice trembled, “I did and I… or  _ he _ or wh-whatever killed so many people. I killed Pa-Padmé, so many Jedi and even led to Master Windu’s death,” Anakin paused, as he tried hard to halt his sobs to no avail, “how can I ever be forgiven for a path that we all know I would have taken?”

“Well how can you be blamed, if  _ you _ never actually took that path?” Obi-Wan countered, “Anakin, while what you ended up doing in that alternate timeline is indeed horrifying,  _ you, _ not him, but  _ you, _ never actually did end up taking that path and therefore you are absolved of all blame, because Anakin, you have to understand that the Anakin who Rey was talking about isn’t you and never will be,” Obi-Wan paused for a moment, before continuing, “the Anakin that I know would never kill Padmé or commit mass genocide so casually, because at the end of the day you’re a good person, Anakin, and an amazing Jedi Knight, even in that timeline, I suppose, in how you ended up turning back to the light, in order to save your son. So, I promise you, Anakin, that you are not Darth Vader nor will you ever be. I promise you, Anakin, that you will not fall to the same fate, as he did.”

Finally Anakin raised his head from his hands and turned his glassy blue eyes to meet Obi-Wan’s, “but how do you know?” His voice cracked.

Obi-Wan’s response was immediate and filled with compassion, truth, gravity, surety and love, “because you are The Chosen One. It’s said that you’ll destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to The Force, not leave it in darkness, and… and because you’re my brother, Anakin. I love you.”

A silence filled the room, as Ahsoka stared at Obi-Wan with shock that slowly morphed into understanding, while Anakin momentarily turned away, as he simply did his best to compute what Obi-Wan had just said.

His whole life, he’d wanted to hear those words coming out of his brother’s mouth, because he needed the verbal confirmation that he was important- that he mattered to the man who he’d seen as both a father and a brother his entire life.

So now that he’d finally heard Obi-Wan speak such words, his heart swelled with new hope for the future and his sobs and tears slowly came to a halt, as his expressive blue gaze turned back to meet Obi-Wan’s once more.

“I love you, too.”

* * *

As Rey walked into the Senate Building with Ben at her side, she found herself thinking back to the previous night.

After Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka had left, she and Ben had spoken for a long time about how terrible they felt that the trio couldn’t have found out at a better time and in a more controlled space, if they had to have found out at all. Still, Rey didn’t fault Ben for lashing out like he did and spoiling their secret, since after all, Anakin had come in there with the very possible intent to kill them, for a reason of which the two still weren’t entirely sure of and would have to ask more about later. So, it was only natural that Ben would have a slip of the tongue in spite of all of that.

Then, earlier this morning, right before they’d headed out, she and Ben had spoken to Master Yoda, informing him of Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka’s newfound knowledge of how they’d come from the future. However, the two made sure to leave out why the three had found out and instead had just vaguely said that it was what The Force wanted, which honestly wasn’t totally a lie, because after all, The Force had done nothing to stop them from telling the trio.

As the Chancellor’s office finally came into her sights, Rey pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind to dwell upon later, because now, she needed to once more refocus her full attention on getting Palpatine’s trust.

“Chancellor,” she greeted with a respectful bow of her head, Ben doing the same, upon entering.

“My dear, Rey,” the Chancellor greeted, as he made his way up to her, completely ignoring Ben, who made his way to his post by the Sith’s desk, “please, tell me. How are you on this fine day?”

Deep-rooted feelings of disgust for the man curled in Rey’s gut, but outwardly, she showed no signs of such things and just made sure to tighten her mental shields, in case he attempted to seek out her true feelings, as she plastered a convincing smile to her face, “wonderful, thank you for asking Chancellor Palpatine, and may I ask how you are?”

“Splendid.”

They talked for a little while longer, as the Chancellor made his way back to his desk and Rey to her post, mostly about current politics, a conversation that Ben even joined for a little bit, and other random topics, such as a newly released speeder that everyone was getting hysterical over and a new restaurant that had just opened up nearby that the Chancellor wanted to take her to.

_ “Hard pass,” _ Rey wanted to say, but instead, she just let a pleased look cross her face.

“That sounds lovely, Chancellor.”

As the sun fell to the rising moon, leaving the darkness to engulf all from up above, if not for the endless shining lights that always kept Coruscant lit, Rey watched as the Chancellor stood and dismissed them for the day. However, just before she could make it out the door, she heard Palpatine call out her name, making her give pause.

She turned and felt Ben turn around too from behind her, however Palpatine simply shook his head at him before beckoning Rey closer and so, Rey strode away from Ben, who was her soulmate and very life, to make her way towards the Dark Lord of the Sith.

The door slid shut, effectively cutting them off from one another.

“My dear, come here,” the Chancellor demanded with a kind light in his eyes that Rey knew was fake, before he turned and led her to the grand window at the back of his office that overlooked the city down below.

For a long moment, Palpatine was silent, as he just stared into the city streets, countless meters beneath them.

“Isn’t it just fascinating?” he began, “how day and night go by in a seemingly endless circle, all the while, the whole of Coruscant continues to stay bright and lit, unaffected by all of it and blinded by their deepest wishes of continued normalcy.”

Rey gave a small nod, wondering where the Chancellor was going with all of this, “I suppose so.”

“It just makes me think of you and Master Solo,” the Chancellor sighed, turning to meet her gaze with a sad, knowing smile.

Rey instantly stiffened and fear rocked her core.

Did he know?

“I’ve seen the way that you two look at each other, so don’t deny it,” the Chancellor continued with a deep pitying look in his eyes, “and I agree that you two should be allowed to love each other. I mean, I just find it so terrible that the Jedi Order does not allow such normal feelings. For, just like this city, which does not seem to be able to discern night from day, the Jedi seem to be unable to discern love from attachment, blinded by the ways of old, rather than being willing to change with the new, in order to better themselves. It truly is just so disheartening… not that I hate the Jedi Order or hold any grievances against them, but it is my wish that they may change one day, so that they can better themselves and you and Master Solo can be happy.”

It scared her how much Palpatine sounded like her from last night when she’d spoken of love and attachment and how different the two were. For while of course, she knew that he was just saying this to try and entice her into his game, and whether or not he actually believed what he said was very much up in the air, the realization that what they’d said was so similar shook her up. Normally, she looked at him and saw none of herself there, minus a couple of similarities in looks, but now that she was able to hear him speaking just like her from the other day, it terrified her.

With a bout of determination, Rey pushed away her conflicting thoughts, as they threatened to tear her apart and made sure to keep up her mask, as she turned to Palpatine with the eyes of a frightened girl, “please, you can’t tell anyone,” she pleaded. 

While of course, even if the Sith did tell someone, like Master Yoda, for instance, it really didn’t matter in the long term, since she and Ben weren’t even technically Jedi, and thus their relationship was none of the Jedi Order’s business.

Palpatine, however, didn’t need to know that.

“Oh, I would never,” the snake reassured her, almost immediately, “for I understand how it feels to love and care for another person like they are an extension of yourself.”

_ Liar. _

The Dark Lord of the Sith sighed, “if only the Jedi felt the same way.”

Rey nodded, staring off wistfully into the city below, “I can only hope that one day they will.”

A moment of silence lapsed between them, before Palpatine finally dismissed her, after telling her once more that she could always confide in him, if ever needed be.

About anything.

As Rey finally left the chamber of the Dark Lord of the Sith and joined up with Ben, once more, to make their way back to the Jedi Temple, she let out a breath of relief that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“What did he say to you?” She heard Ben inquire next to her, voice whisper-soft and worried.

“I’ll tell you when we get back,” she promised and he nodded after a moment in acceptance of her response.

After the ride back, the pair instantly made their way to Rey’s room, where she told Ben of everything that had happened during her private conversation with Darth Sidious, of how he now apparently knew about their relationship and how his words about attachment and love had scared her, because he’d briefly reminded her of herself from the previous night.

Ben stayed silent and contemplative the entire time she talked, but once she’d finished a concerned look filled his deep brown eyes, “Rey, just because you’re technically related to the man and said one similar thing that he probably didn’t even mean and just said in an attempt to manipulate you, doesn’t mean that you are anything like him,” he paused, “you do know that, right?”

For the briefest of moments, Rey hesitated, but then nodded, because at the end of the day, even though Palpatine might’ve spoken like her for a moment, she knew in her heart that she was nothing like him. Nothing at all.

“I know,” she breathed.

“Good,” was all Ben said as he gently pulled her body closer to his own on the couch that they currently took up residence on and Rey leaned her head down to rest it on his powerful shoulder.

“I can’t wait for all of this to just be over,” she sighed, exhausted with constantly seeming to be caught in the midst of all of the action her whole life and never seeming to really get a break from it all.

“Me too,” she heard Ben murmur back, “but I feel like dark times are very imminent in our near future, before we’ll ever get to experience the light.”

“Aren’t they always?”

The two laughed, not because it was funny, but because it was so disturbingly true. Then, once the laughter had finally died down, they lapsed back into silence, once more, until Rey finally spoke, as she lifted her head up from Ben’s shoulder, to face him, albeit not quite meeting his eyes.

“Once this is all over, Ben, I was thinking… or well umm wondering…” she stumbled over her words, “would… would you want to go find a place maybe?” She asked nervously, as her pace of talking picked up drastically, “maybe here or on Chandrila or… or something? Maybe… m-maybe start a family of our own.” Finally, Rey lifted her hopeful, expressive brown-eyed gaze to meet Ben’s own. 

In them, she saw many things, but most of all, joy, hope and unbridled love, for her.

“There’s nothing that I would love more.”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	34. Tea Leaves and Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Barriss spend time together.
> 
> Anakin discovers who’s really behind the plot to kill him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Dark thoughts raged through Ahsoka’s head, as she resided in her quarters with Barriss. She couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation that they’d had with Ben and Rey the previous night and all of the terrible things that were to come, if they failed to prevent them from happening.

Her blue eyed gaze darted to Barriss, who she’d invited over, after Anakin had disappeared, saying he’d be back the following morning. She wondered what had become of Barriss during Order 66 in the other timeline. Had she fallen like most of the other Jedi or had she lived to see another day? Had she even been around for Order 66?

Ahsoka wished that she had asked.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Ahsoka did her best to focus on the present, since it would do no good to paralyze herself with fear of what the future could end up being, since just like Yoda said,  _ “always in motion, is the future.” _

Still, she still found it hard to just pull herself away from thinking of it all.

Of what Anakin could and would have become…

At the thought of Darth Vader, Ahsoka finally managed to escape from her thoughts entirely, because thinking about that detail seemed to hurt more than anything else that she’d learned of that possible future did.

Finally, free of such thoughts, Ahsoka refocused on the moment.

Sorting through the small kitchenette’s cabinets, Ahsoka searched for some tea bags in order to brew her and Barriss each a cup, while her… friend waited patiently at the other side of the room, sitting on a plush couch.

Upon finally finding some tea bags, Ahsoka boiled up some water and then let the bags steep, before finally handing Barriss her cup, as she took her place on the couch right next to the beautiful- _ friendly _ Mirialan girl.

“Here you go, Barriss,” Ahsoka passed her  _ friend _ the cup.

“Thank you, Ahsoka.”

For a long moment the two just sat there in silence, each taking sips of their respective teas, until Barriss finally spoke.

“Do you ever wonder if the Jedi are beginning to lose their way?”

Ahsoka just barely stopped herself from choking on her tea, as she set it down on a stray table before them that was already unsurprisingly cluttered with a bunch of random droid parts from Anakin. Then, Ahsoka turned her gaze, so that her sky blue eyes met Barriss’s deep blue. In them, she could see deep conflict, hesitance and the weight of a deep burden that suddenly seemed to rest upon her shoulders.

“I mean, we’re supposed to be peacekeepers, Ahsoka,” Barriss sighed, “and while the Jedi are the closest thing that I’ve ever had to a family, I think there may be some corruptions from the darkside lying in our midst,” the Padawan confided, before pausing, “I’m telling you this because… because I trust you, Ahsoka, and I just needed to talk to someone about this. I mean, we’re Jedi, protectors of the peace and yet, we’re off fighting a war and calling ourselves Generals and Commanders,” Barriss averted her gaze a little, seeming to lose confidence the more and more she spoke, “I know that I probably just sound crazy to you, but I can feel it in The Force that we have begun to embark on a dark path... but then again I don’t know, it’s just a feeling…” Barriss trailed off.

Ahsoka found herself surprised by the boldness of Barriss’s statement and while at first, despite her feelings…  _ of friendship, _ for her  _ friend, _ she felt an innate sense of responsibility to leap to the Jedi Order’s defense. However, when Ahsoka really thought about Barriss’s reflection on the Order and took it apart piece by piece, she was able to recognize just how true it really was, no matter how hard it was for her to accept at heart. It all made sense… especially after all that Ben and Rey had told her, Anakin and Obi-Wan the previous night.

“I know,” she finally decided after a long moment, “and I agree with you. However, I believe that as Jedi, we will find our way once more and learn from these mistakes. Everything will work out in the end.”

Ahsoka watched as a flicker of surprise lit up Barriss’s face, before she was fully able to reign her emotions back in.

“I must say, Ahsoka, that I am surprised that you agree with me, no offense of course, but I just didn’t expect you to agree with me so quickly…”

Ahsoka understood what Barriss meant and as such, took no offense, since there were many things that could’ve easily made Barriss think such things of her, like how she and her Master, Anakin Skywalker, would have contests about who was able to kill the most droids, when they went into battle. Something that appalled many in the Temple. However, Ahsoka was and always would be a Jedi at heart, and so she agreed with Barriss’s statement, because her loyalty lay with The Force and The Code, not just The Jedi Order.

Despite all of that though, Barriss’s statement also gave way for a brand new unanswered question.

“I take no offense, Barriss, but I must ask… if you didn’t think I’d agree with you, then why did you confide in me about all of that?”

Ahsoka watched as an emotion that she didn’t quite recognize crossed Barriss’s face, who suddenly seemed very lost in her thoughts for a few moments, before she finally spoke.

“Just like I said earlier,” Barriss finally decided, “because I trust you.”

Ahsoka nodded, accepting the answer, but not quite believing that that was her only reason. Still, she wasn’t eager to take the line of questioning any further than it had already gone.

She grabbed her tea, once more, taking a long, last drink and clearing it of all the liquid that remained, until at the bottom, only a few stray tea leaves remained, oddly looking like a wreathed aster. Amused by the pretty shape, Ahsoka settled the cup down on the table and turned to Barriss with a small smile, as she decided to change the subject.

“Wanna play a game of Dejarik?”

* * *

Anakin was frankly overwhelmed, by well… everything.

While of course, Obi-Wan’s words of comfort had given him at least some solace, he still found himself feeling like he was slowly self-imploding, as all of the terrible things that he had ended up doing in the other timeline flashed through his mind.

He needed Padmé and he needed her now. That was his only thought that crossed his mind, as he made his way through the Coruscanti streets. For while on pretty much any other given day, he probably would’ve just taken a speeder, today was not a normal day and Anakin desperately needed to clear his head, so he’d decided that walking was the best solution.

A rare rain pattered down from the sky above, flattening Anakin’s hair to his head and sending rivulets of water cascading down his body, however even that still didn’t stop him or make him wish that he’d taken a speeder, as he continued to make his way towards his wife’s apartment.

However, Anakin could still feel shivers snaking their way through his body, as growing up on a brutally hot desert planet seemed to do that to you.

Hardly anyone was out and walking around, due to the rain and so, the streets were fairly bare for once, as Anakin turned down an alleyway shortcut. However almost as soon as he turned into the alleyway, he felt something dark and very wrong, as The Force began to scream at him in warning.

Still, no one appeared and so, making sure to remain alert, Anakin continued to make his way through the alleyway, while keeping an eye out for any potential signs of danger.

The soft sound of well-trained feet hitting the ground suddenly sounded from behind him and Anakin spun around to see a hooded Count Dooku, eyeing him with disdain.

“Dooku,” Anakin growled, his thoughts of the future forgotten for the moment, as he quickly unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it’s bright blue plasma blade. “What are you doing here?”

The older man stayed where he was, but ignited his own red lightsaber as well, moving it in a practiced Makashi salute.

“It’s a shame that you haven’t figured that part out already,” the Count remarked, disappointedly, “I would’ve expected far better from my lineage… but then again, I suppose that my lineage went downhill, as soon as Qui-Gon took up Kenobi, as a Padawan. He’s always been weak and trapped in the past, just like you. My former Padawan Qui-Gon Jinn would’ve understood had Kenobi not let him die… he would’ve joined me. He would’ve seen the truth.”

As soon as the insult to his brother left Dooku’s mouth, it took all of Anakin’s restraint not to leap at the Sith Lord in a fit of rage, for his beyond cruel and unfair words, because he knew that that was exactly what Dooku wanted him to do. Obi-Wan had been a Padawan when his Master had been slaughtered by that twisted Zabrak, Maul. It was hardly his brother’s fault.

“Only the weak embrace the morals that you do,” Anakin contradicted.

The count simply shook his head, looking at Anakin in a rather condescending way, as if he were simply too young and naïve to understand the complexity of the galaxy, “the darkside is more powerful than you know.”

Thinking of everything that he’d just recently learned, about Luke, Leia, Rey and Ben, Anakin found his retort instantly finding its place upon his lips.

“And those who oppose it are more powerful than you’ll ever be.”

Anakin watched as Dooku made the first move with the precision, fluidity and careful footwork of Makashi, a lightsaber Form that he was one of the last Masters of.

Taking a small step back, Anakin met him head-on, raising his lightsaber in a defensive movement and catching the man’s blade, before they both disengaged, circling each other and searching for any signs of weaknesses in the other one.

“Why are you here?” Anakin asked again, narrowing his eyes. “Why are you risking everything, by trying to kill me on Coruscant…?” 

The Count didn’t answer him, however as soon as the words  _ “kill me” _ left Anakin’s mouth, he suddenly realized exactly why Dooku was there.

He was the one trying to kill him.

But why?

While of course, Dooku most definitely despised him, which Anakin’s severed hand would most certainly attest to, he still didn’t understand why Dooku was being so direct about it, by trying to kill him on a planet like Coruscant and in all honesty, really risking just about everything.

In his split-second of hesitation, as he pondered his sudden revelation, Dooku took the chance and used the Force to give him an extra burst of speed, almost striking a hit that would’ve gone straight through Anakin’s heart had he not blocked in time.

“You’re the one who’s been sending the bounty hunters,” Anakin accused, as he pushed hard back against Dooku’s blade with the force of Djem So.

A mockingly proud smile lit up Dooku’s features, “I was wondering if there was a brain in that incredibly dense head of yours.”

Anakin glared at the man, as he finally managed to parry the blade away from his heart, before proceeding to sending powerful, arching swipes Dooku’s way in his perfected Djem So, until finally they, once again, found themselves at a impasse, however this time Anakin’s blade was slowly inching closer and closer to Dooku’s chest, putting the Count on the defensive.

“Why are you trying to kill me?” Anakin demanded, to which the Sith Lord actually laughed.

“I’m afraid that while I do indeed want you dead, the request comes from much higher up on the chain.”

Dooku parried Anakin’s blade away and Anakin leapt backward in a flip to avoid Dooku’s follow-up countermove.

A mix of fear, surprise and hurt stirred in Anakin’s gut, as he realized exactly who Dooku meant.

Darth Sidious.

The Chancellor.

_ Palpatine. _

A man who he had, only up until recently, looked up to as a grandfather, in a way. A man who had always been there to listen to his problems. A man who had made him feel good about himself. A man who Ben and Rey had said was not to be trusted.

Still didn’t that same man want him to become Darth Vader? Wouldn’t killing him disrupt his plans?

He decided that he’d have to talk to Ben and Rey more about it, later, if he managed to make it out of this duel alive.

With the reality of The Chancellor’s evil nature, finally starting to fully sink into Anakin’s bones, he angled several more sweeps of his blade at the Sith Lord.

Renewed pain, fear, sadness and  _ anger  _ stirred within Anakin, as the fight dragged on. He hated reality and the life that he would’ve had. He hated the Sith and he hated that The Force seemed to constantly be trying to play some sick game on him.

“I sense great fear in you, Skywalker,” Dooku remarked, as their blades clashed against one another in a fury of sparks, “you have hate. You have anger.  _ Use them.” _

Contrary to what Dooku had probably been trying to do, his words actually brought Anakin back to his senses, as feelings of shame spread throughout him. To use such emotions to influence one in battle or even life was incredibly immoral and so, catching himself, he forced himself to release such emotions into The Force and instead, only worked to focus on the here and now, rather than the past or future.

Methodically, Anakin swept his blade in calculated sweeps of his powerful Djem So, taking on a pretty strong offensive and thus, forcing Dooku into defensive.

The fight lasted a few more minutes, with their lightsabers determinedly clashing against one another in a flurry of movement, as the Jedi and the Sith both worked to gain the upper hand, until Anakin finally saw his chance and managed to cleave Dooku’s right hand from his body, in a powerful, calculated sweep, sending his lightsaber flying into the air, as Anakin caught it with his left.

He watched as the Count fell to the ground, shock swimming through his eyes, as he stared at his dismembered right hand, before glancing up at Anakin with a look of real fear finally shining through his eyes.

For a moment, Anakin found himself truly tempted to kill the Sith Lord then and there, but he knew that that was not the Jedi way and if he wanted to steer clear of the path of Darth Vader completely, then he would not kill this man, no matter how terrible he was, because it was not Anakin’s place to play Judge, Jury and Executioner.

So, instead, he disengaged both lightsabers, before slamming the side of his own into Dooku’s head, knocking him out cold.

With a sigh, Anakin sank down to the ground, next to Dooku, as the rain continued to assault him from up above, before pulling out his comlink and comming his former Master.

“Obi-Wan? It’s me, Anakin. I think that I’m going to need your help…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	35. Settling Darkness on the Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ben and Rey talk.
> 
> Palpatine decides to accelerate his plan, after Dooku’s failure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Anakin was thoroughly exhausted by the time that he got back to the Jedi Temple.

After comming his former Master and informing him of the situation, Obi-Wan had been quick to arrive with Masters’ Windu, Unduli and Koon to help take the unconscious Sith Lord and Seperatist leader back to the Temple, in order to await trial.

Disappointment coursed through Anakin’s veins, as he watched Dooku get hauled off to a prison cell, upset that the man had inadvertently prevented him from getting to see Padmé. However, next to that, he also found himself curious about what would happen to the Separatists now that their leader had been taken out. He hoped it meant that the Clone Wars would soon be over. Finally, there was another strange emotion coursing through him that he couldn’t quite identify, although he knew that it was stemming from the betrayal that he felt from the man, who he’d once seen as a grandfather type figure in his life, and how he was actually The Dark Lord of the Sith, now seeming to furthermore want him dead.

Still, he didn’t quite understand why Palpatine was after him. For hadn’t Ben and Rey said that he wanted him to be Darth Vader? His Sith apprentice? Had something changed the Sith’s mind? Was he no longer deemed worthy of such a title?

“Anakin, you’ll need to give a full statement to the council tomorrow morning, as to what happened,” he heard a familiar voice sound from behind him, “but until that time comes do you… do you want to talk about it?”

Anakin turned to face his brother, who’s bright blue eyes now observed him with a mix of worry and concern.

“I can tell there’s something bothering you, Anakin,” Obi-Wan continued, “something beyond your battle with Dooku. So please, Anakin, tell me what it is.”

It was curious how much more open, he now suddenly found himself to be with Obi-Wan. 

For while of course for years the two had been incredibly close, which had made most of the Council frown upon their relationship, yet still keeping them together, because of their high success rate on missions, there had always seemed to be an impassable barrier that had stood rock solid between them.

It’d literally taken Obi-Wan to die, for them to finally put the Code’s rule about “attachment” aside and be open and honest with each other, like brothers.

“Okay,” Anakin sighed, after only a moment of hesitation, “but not here.”

Anakin took off down the winding hallways of the Jedi Temple, headed towards Ben and Rey’s rooms. After all, he needed to talk to them too about all of this, so why not knock out Obi-Wan’s inquiry and his question for the two time-travelers all in one blow?

As they got closer and closer to the two force-users rooms, Obi-Wan finally seemed to pick up on where he was going and shot him a rather curious look.

“Anakin, why are you headed towards Ben and Rey’s rooms?” He inquired.

“I have a question for them that is related to yours,” was all Anakin gave in response, as he continued to make his way through the long, twisting corridors until he finally came upon Rey’s room.

He gave a few quick knocks and then waited, only momentarily surprised to see that Ben was the one who opened the door, until he remembered the obvious relationship that he and Rey had.

“What do you want?” His grandson- _what a strange thought_ \- asked, as his dark brown eyes flickering between the two Jedi, assessing them.

For a brief moment, Anakin paused, hesitating, especially after his last encounter with the two, but then he pushed his worries aside and instead replied in what passed as a calm and collected manner.

“I’ve just had a very surprising revelation that means that you both have definitely changed this timeline’s future and so, I wanted to speak to the two of you about it.”

Ben gave a small nod and allowed the two Jedi entry, albeit keeping a close eye on Anakin, which honestly didn’t really surprise him, based on how things had gone the last time he’d entered Rey’s quarters.

Rey, who had been listening to the short exchange, gestured for both Obi-Wan and Anakin to take a seat, before Anakin began to tell his tale, of all that had occured, just a couple of hours ago. Meanwhile, Ben joined Rey on the opposing cushioned seats.

As Anakin recounted the night’s events and how he’d discovered that it now seemed like Darth Sidious wanted his head on a platter, he was surprised to see that Ben and Rey honestly didn’t seem all that surprised, while Obi-Wan, on the other hand, seemed to be emitting actual fear, for once, that he was desperately trying to stifle down.

As he finished telling the small group of what had happened, he shot Obi-Wan a reassuring look, as if to tell him that he’d be alright, before turning his full attention back to Ben and Rey.

For a long moment the two were silent, as if debating whether or not to divulge a piece of information, before Rey finally broke and spoke.

“Ben and I have been thinking for a while now that Sidious may have actually started to take up an interest in me,” she confided, before going on to tell them of all the times that the Dark Lord of the Sith had hold her back, after her and Ben’s shift, to privately speak with her about more personal matters, all the while laying subtle taints upon the Jedi Order. Then, about the time Darth Sidious had taken her to the Opera to go and see a live show, which Anakin did already know about, however, Rey made sure to tell him in much more detail this time around, and how it’d all started after she’d showed him her incredible power in The Force, when she’d healed Ventress.

“So now that he thinks that he no longer needs Anakin, he’s going to try to kill him,” Obi-Wan finally spoke, his brows furrowed in thought and concern.

Ben nodded, “it’s likely, especially since he’s The Chosen One.”

A chill settled in Anakin’s bones, for while he was necessarily afraid of death, he was afraid of who might get caught in the cross-fire, if this continued to go on.

“Are you sure that he hasn’t given you anything… anything at all, concrete or otherwise that you could take to the Council and the Courts?” Anakin asked hopefully, knowing that the very obvious answer was no, but still hoping for the slim possibility that it could just maybe be yes.

A look of guilt slid into Rey’s eyes, as she shook her head, “I’m sorry, Anakin, but we still haven’t been able to get any strong evidence against The Chancellor, just yet.”

* * *

It didn’t take long for word to reach Palpatine’s ears of Dooku’s incredible failure.

His blood turned to ice, as he found himself wishing that his worthless Sith apprentice was here right now, so that he could pull him apart piece by piece and make him suffer for his crimes against his Master.

Back in his apartment, Darth Sidious drank all of his burning hatred in, turning his eyes a haunting shade of yellow, rimmed with red and his heart black, from all of the darkness coursing within.

He’d definitely have to have his unruly apprentice assassinated now.

For a long moment, he just stood at a grand window in his apartment, his hands clenched in fists, as he let his anger sizzle and burn, until he finally decided to refocus his mind on what he was to do now, since Dooku had completely ruined his original much longer and well thought out plan.

Lucky for Sidious though, he was good at adapting, unlike those uptight, strict Jedi.

Clearing his mind, like the strategic man he was, Palpatine recentered himself and after only a few moments, knew with a startling certainty, what he needed to do.

While of course, it wasn’t ideal that he’d have to speed up the Sith’s takeover of the Republic, it was definitely doable and necessary. It wouldn’t be too hard, anyways, what with the already compromised Senate and Jedi Order.

For in the Senate, many of the more popular and recognizable Senators were deeply flawed. For instance, Senator Amidala being too quick to trust and Senator Binks just being, well… himself. Then, the Jedi Order was beginning to become consumed by the dark side of The Force, as they spent their days as warriors, rather than peace-keepers.

It wouldn’t be too hard for Palpatine to essentially become the Senate, in turning the government into an Empire. Then, he’d need to get Rey completely in his grasp, as his next apprentice and if she resisted, then he could always use Ben Solo, as leverage. Finally, he’d need to execute Order 66 and eradicate any of the remaining Jedi, and he supposed that since Skywalker kept evading the bounty hunters and even Dooku himself, he’d just get to have the honor of perishing during that, as well.

Perhaps, he could even arrange to have Captain Rex be the one to personally kill him.

A cruel crackle of laughter fell from his lips, as he imagined the sweet smell of death, betrayal and his perfect Empire coming to fruition.

It would all just be so much fun.

* * *

After he’d finished talking to Rey and Ben about Darth Sidious, Anakin left, before parting ways with Obi-Wan as well, heading back to his room to get some much needed rest.

Upon arriving at his and Ahsoka’s quarters, he was a bit surprised to see that Padawan Barriss Offee was over and playing Dejarik with Ahsoka, both of whom shot him brief, surprised, fearful looks, when he entered, as if they’d been caught… at something, though at what he didn’t know, since they were literally just playing a game of Dejarik. So, deciding to pay their weirdness no mind, Anakin gave both Master Unduli’s Padawan and his own words of greeting, before heading off to his small bedroom and shutting the door behind him.

Anakin collapsed on his mattress and his eyes slipped shut instantly, as he fell into a world of dreams.

_He was at the Jedi Temple, but something was wrong._

_So terribly wrong._

_Screams echoed through his ears and what he assumed was blood splattered the walls, painting them red, however, frustratingly enough, everything and everyone refused to come completely into focus._

_Instead, all he was able to see were blurs of slight shape and color._

_Sleek white armored bodies marched through the Temple, reminding him of… something, as they shot down everyone in sight._

_Anakin watched, as one of the armored individuals finally fell and filled with both curiosity and horror, Anakin approached the fallen killer, lifting the mask hiding his face._

_As soon as the mask came off, he felt pure horror and betrayal fill him._

_“No,” he breathed._

_He both knew and didn’t know who it was._

_The dream shifted and he suddenly found himself inside of a dimly lit room, as Younglings desperately hid from the unbridled terror that surely awaited them just outside the doors._

_The thudding sounds of running feet approached and the doors opened._

_The scene shifted once more._

_This was a different room, smaller than the other one had been._

_The same younglings were there and crying now, filled with the terror of the moment, as two figures shepherded them into something that he couldn’t quite identify._

_Once the Younglings were all gone, Anakin watched, as the two figures turned around and started to come a bit more into focus, however, just before Anakin could figure out who they were, an infinite number of shouts sounded and suddenly all he saw was white, after hearing someone shout a final cry of tearful last words: “I love you!”_

_Anakin closed his eyes, blinded by the light, before opening them again to find himself at a Funeral with two bodies burning before him._

Anakin jolted awake with a shout, although not one loud enough to alert anyone else of his distress, as his heart raced and he assured himself that it had only been a bad dream.

A nightmare.

Not a vision…

It couldn’t be a vision.

It couldn’t be...

Ben and Rey’s tales of Order 66 whispered in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	36. Unbridled Dreams Unfurling Underneath the Watchful Eye of the Starry Night Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Palpatine talk.
> 
> Barriss and Ahsoka spend some time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

It was almost time to leave.

Rey watched, as night consumed the horizon and Coruscant became covered in the blanket of stars.

Correction: it was almost time to leave… but not for her.

As expected, when The Chancellor dismissed them, he, once more, signaled for Rey to stay behind.

She watched, as Ben walked through the door, disappearing from her line of sight, once the door had shut, once more, behind him.

“Rey, my dear,” The Dark Lord of the Sith began in his false grandfatherly voice, “come here. Sit,” he gestured to a seat that was across from his own.

Rey sat and her brown eyes met the Sith’s pseudo-blue.

“Tell me, my dear,” Darth Sidious began, “how have things been with that boy… Ben Solo.”

She hated to hear him say his name, especially after everything that Palpatine had taken from Ben and his family. More than that though, he simply had no right to use Ben’s name as bait in their conversations and yet, there was truly nothing that Rey could really do about it, unless she wanted their intricate plans to be foiled.

Thus, the only thing that Rey could really do, was say what Palpatine wanted to hear. All it was, was putting on an act, which quite honestly came rather easy to her, having been a rebel against a massive terrorist organization that had ruled over the galaxy in her timeline.

She allowed a small flicker of fear to flit across her gaze, which quite honestly wasn’t too hard to conjure up, since she was sitting next to her crazy, genocidal, psychopath of a (grand)father.

“Good…” she started out vaguely, “I think that the Jedi still have no clue, but I… I fear that they may be suspicious,” she bit her lip and averted her gaze a bit, staring off into nothing, as if troubled and deep in thought.

The Dark Lord of the Sith frowned, “I thought that the Jedi were not allowed to be afraid?”

_Well, I am no Jedi._

“I apologize, Chancellor, I misspoke… I… I only meant-”

Palpatine cut her off, “oh, my dear, Rey. Please, trust me, I do not fault you for your fear. To be afraid is to be human, after all. It is just tragic, though, that this fear all stems from that of which your life revolves around.”

_I will not feed my fear into superfluous anger against the Jedi._

“Yes… it is, and thank you Chancellor,… you are much too kind. I guess that sometimes I just… just wish that we could be more open with our relationship within the Temple’s walls.” Rey finally allowed her gaze to finally rise and fully meet the Sith’s once more, although she made sure to let deep uncertainty swirl within her deep brown orbs.

“Well, I can only hope that one day the Jedi shall change their ways and realize what a great mistake they made in confusing love and attachment, because you, my dear, Rey, deserve more than what you have been given,” the Sith paused for a brief moment, seemingly lost in thought, “still, no matter what happens, with power as great as yours, I foresee that you shall become a great Jedi. Perhaps, even more powerful than Master Yoda.”

_Don’t flatter me, I know what you really want._

“Thank you, Chancellor.”

Palpatine smiled kindly, “oh, you have no need to thank me, my dear. Instead, thank the Jedi, when they realize that they were wrong all along, because they will realize it, I assure you. Perhaps, much sooner than you expect.

_Sooner than I expect? What the kriff is that supposed to mean? Has the schedule been moved up? Is this because of Dooku?_

“Thank you for your optimism, Chancellor, I can only hope that in due time, you are correct.”

* * *

Ahsoka glided through the city streets with Barriss at her side.

A few days had gone by, since they’d last spoken and played that game of Dejarik, which Barriss had won pretty much every, single time, by a long shot, until she lost drastically in their last game. However, Ahsoka was fairly certain that that was only because Barriss had just finally decided to let her win out of pity for her poor Dejarik skills, because during their last game the Mirialan girl had been playing ten times worse than she normally did, which was saying a lot.

Since her Master was out and hanging with Obi-Wan, probably sparring or something, and Barriss’s Master, Master Unduli, was off on a mission, somewhere where she could not take Barriss with her, the two had decided to go out for dinner… just for the fun of it.

Eventually, the pair came upon a small diner that didn’t seem very crowded and so, the two briskly made their way inside and were quickly seated.

“Have you ever been here before?” Ahsoka asked her _friend,_ as she picked up the luckily only slightly dirty menu to glance through it.

“No, I don’t believe I have,” Barriss replied, in her beautifully flowing Coruscanti accent, “have you?”

Ahsoka shook her head, “no, I’ve only ever really gone to Dex’s, when I’ve gone out to eat, with my Master and Master Kenobi.”

The two lapsed into a brief silence, as they decided what to get. After a few minutes, both had decided and hailed a droid over, with Ahsoka putting in an order for a nerf casserole and Barriss putting in an order for Dru’un.

While they waited for their food, the two kept their topics light and mostly just talked about Temple life and missions that they’d recently gone on.

Ahsoka watched, as Barriss frowned, when she proudly brought up how she’d beaten her Master’s count on demolished droids, during their last mission.

“Isn’t it a little unethical to turn such destruction into a game?”

Ahsoka’s fingers twitched, “it helps us deal with the reality of what we’re facing.”

Before Barriss could conjure up a reply, the food arrived, saving them both from a conflicting and awkward conversation.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, as they ate, with only a few discussions taking place here and there, although luckily no more debates arose about what was or wasn’t ethical.

Once they had finally finished, Ahsoka paid for the meal with her Temple credit chip, while also making sure to leave a generous tip for the owner, before leaving the establishment with Barriss at her side.

“It’s quite beautiful out tonight, isn’t it?” Her _friend_ observed, as her gaze drifted upwards towards the brilliant shining stars, which were speckled across the night’s tenebrous canvas.

Ahsoka raised her gaze upwards, so that she too could get a full glimpse of the gorgeous blanket of stars which lay up above their heads.

“Yes, it sure is,” she affirmed, before giving pause, as rebellious thoughts flickered through her mind and before she could stop herself, she spoke them aloud, “if you want, we could probably get a better view from the top of that building.” Ahsoka pointed to a tall skyscraper that seemed to go on forever, as it disappeared into the night sky.

At first, Barriss's deep blue gaze seemed to light up with excitement at the suggestion, before they suddenly became cloudy with reproach, as her common sense, as a Jedi, seemed to suddenly come rushing back.

“Are you sure, Ahsoka? Shouldn’t we be getting back to the Temple, instead? I mean, it’s rather late and-”

Ahsoka smirked, as she cut off Barriss’s nervous ramblings and determination began to flow freely through her veins, as her idea of reaching the top of the tower began to seem more and more appetizing, “come on, Barriss. Please? We won’t be there for long, just to look.”

Despite still seeming unsure of the whole situation, Barriss finally acquiesced to Ahsoka’s request and let her lead the way into the tall structure.

The ride up the turbolift to the top of the incredibly tall skyscraper was much shorter than Ahsoka had initially expected it to be, as it took them only about a standard minute to reach the top.

Once the doors opened, the two stepped out of the lift and into the crisp, cold air of the night, while the stars danced over their heads like fairies.

Ahsoka momentarily glanced over at Barriss to gauge her reaction at the incredible sight, to see that any reservations that she might’ve had before, suddenly seemed to have completely and utterly vanished.

“It’s beautiful,” she heard the equally beautiful Mirialan girl breath and Ahsoka instantly found herself agreeing, because it most truly was.

Thousands of meters off the ground, city streets, people, speeders, ships and all of the other buildings, minus a couple in the distance seemed to disappear entirely into a deep, enveloping darkness down below. Up there, it was just them, Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee. There were no Jedi, no Sith, no problems, no Separatists, no Republic, no war, no time-travelers, no yesterday, no today and no tomorrow.

Only them.

Something stirred within Ahsoka like a wildfire and she turned her gaze to look into Barriss’s, just as she, seeming to have the exact same thoughts, turned to look into Ahsoka’s.

The stars twinkled up above, brighter from up here, as they speckled the sky in a grand series of beautiful, elaborate patterns. It was like nothing either of them had ever seen from the grounds of Coruscant and was made all the more magical somehow, in how they were both there to be able to experience it together.

Before Ahsoka even knew what was happening, she found both herself and Barriss leaning forward, until suddenly they were kissing under the vast array of beautiful starlight.

A shooting star sailed over their heads, as their kiss deepened and Ahsoka wrapped her arms around Barriss’s waist, pulling her closer, while Barris’s hands held Ahsoka’s face with her gentle touch.

As the two finally pulled away, Ahsoka was startled. For while she’d known for a long time that she held an attraction towards Barriss, she’d thought that she had been in control of it.

Apparently not.

Barriss seemed to be thinking the very same thing, as she stared at Ahsoka with a mix of both total shock and surprise, but also, desire and passion that was reflected in Ahsoka’s own bright blue gaze.

“Ahsoka…” Barriss breathed, but before she could even finish, the two found themselves inexplicably kissing again with only the twinkling stars up above and the sprawling darkness of the night sky, as their witnesses.

Finally, they pulled away and just stared into each other’s eyes for a long time with a wild mix of emotions running between them.

“Ahsoka,” Barriss finally breathed again, her eyes seeming to portray all of the emotions of the universe: elation, happiness, sadness, anger, fear, hope, desire, passion, desperation and so much more, “what are we going to do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	37. Starry Nights and Contemplative Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Barriss confront their feelings for each other.
> 
> Ben and Rey talk.
> 
> Anakin spends some quality time with Padmé.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Ahsoka’s mind was racing a mile a minute and her heart felt like it was about to explode.

Barriss liked her too.

She wasn’t alone in her illicit feelings.

She could barely think, due to all of the emotions running through her after their first and second kiss. So, in the heat of the moment, Barriss’s question barely made it to her ears, but when it did, it sent a cold chill reverabrating up Ahsoka’s spine.

_What are we going to do?_

While she was now beginning to believe that, like Rey had said, attachment and love were not the same thing, The Jedi Council still most certainitly didn’t see things that way and so, for her to strike up a relationship with Barriss was incredibly dangerous, if they truly wished to become full fledged Jedi Knights or even Masters, in the future. Then again, Rey did also say that she was going to try to change that rule, so maybe if she and Barriss just kept their relationship a secret for a while, things would turn out alright in the end?

Ahsoka decided to go with that, at least for the moment, because now that she knew that Barriss reciprocated her feelings, she really didn’t want to have to let her go.

She reached out, enveloping Barriss’s hands in her own with a gentle touch, “we… we can just hide it for now, maybe… who… who knows? Maybe The Council will eventually decide to change their minds, Barriss. Nobody needs to know…”

Intense conflict warred in Barriss’s eyes, as her gaze flicker off, past Ahsoka, and into the distant, dark nothingness of the tumbling, uncertain depths surrounding them at all sides, before finally shifting and falling to both her and Ahsoka’s intertwined hands.

“Ahsoka, what if The Council finds out somehow and expels us from The Order?”

The young Togruta Padawan stiffened for a moment, before she forced the tension to leave her body, as she released it into The Force like she’d been trained to do, “Barriss, I promise you that they won’t… and even if they do, at least we’ll be together, right?”

Ahsoka watched with apprehension, as Barriss nervously shifted her weight from side to side, before finally raising her gaze to meet Ahsoka’s eyes with the small beginnings of a smile tugging at her cheeks.

“Okay.”

They kissed again, under the stars of the past, present and future. However, this time their kiss was filled with purpose and resolve, both knowing that this was what they wanted, rather than it just being spontaneous or spur of the moment.

The night’s blanket of stars twinkled up above.

* * *

Ben’s concern only seemed to grow, as he listened to Rey speak about what had occured, during her conversation with Palpatine. By the time she had finished, his features were alight with shock, from his position next to her on one of her room’s few couches.

“And you’re sure that he said that something will change sooner than we expect, in relation to the Jedi?” His stark brown gaze searched Rey’s own and he watched, as she gave slight pause, before affirming what he’d said with a small, worried nod.

“Well that’s not good,” he breathed, sinking deeper into the plush cushions of the couch with Rey joining him shortly thereafter.

“No,” he heard her sigh, softly, “it’s really not… and it’s just that I thought we’d have more time, you know? Then, there’s the fact that we still don’t have any concrete evidence against Sidious and… and...” Ben watched worriedly Rey’s eyes slipped shut, as the stress of the day’s events and just their whole situation, in general, consummed her, “I just can’t wait for all of this to be over,” she breath and her eyes opened again, the stress now seeming to have fled for the moment, as she stared at him lovingly, setting off a field of butterflies in his stomach. “I just can’t wait for the day, when we can finally just be free of all of this mess and go get a place on our own to call… home,” she paused, before quickly and rather nervously adding, “and start a family, maybe,” Ben moved closer to her with a warm smile lighting up his features, in an attempt to reassure her that he too felt the same way.

“I can’t wait for that day, either,” he confessed, “I’m ready to be free of fate and destiny. All that I want is to live a nice, quiet and peaceful life with you.”

He watched as Rey’s beautiful brown eyes seemed to twinkle like stars, as he pulled her in for a gentle kiss, which she eagerly reciprocated. Then, once the two had finally pulled away, they eyed each other with knowing smiles, before Rey finally broke the eye contact and got up from the couch. She headed into the kitchen to either make caf or tea, although Ben guessed that the latter was more likely, and was right, as he watched her come back after a few minutes, with a freshly brewed cup of tea in her right hand, while handing him another one in her left.

Ben took the drink and thanked Rey, as she sat down, again, next to him. Once she was seated, Ben felt the air around them turn a shade darker, as the brief moment of levity from earlier vanished, for the moment, and they found their thoughts turning back to Darth Sidious, alongside his very possibly expedited plan.

“Do you think that we should tell anyone that it appears that things may now be moving much faster than they did in our timeline?” Ben asked, and watched, as Rey pondered over his inquiry, before replying with certainity and resolve shining in her brilliant, brown eyes.

“Yes, we probably should warn everyone else that we’ve told of the future, so far, just in case, so that would include Master Yoda, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka,” Rey paused, before continuing, “however, right now it’s incredibly late and I’m very tired, so we can just tell them tomorrow evening.”

Ben nodded in agreement, before following Rey towards the bedroom and drifting off to sleep at her side.

Funny, come to think of it, he really hadn’t been back to his room at all in the past couple of weeks.

* * *

It was late when Ahsoka arrived back at the Jedi Temple with Barriss at her side, both doing their best to act like nothing had happened and that they were still only friends.

After finally parting ways with her… girlfriend, Ahsoka supposed, she disappeared down the winding, twisted corridors, as she headed back towards the quarters that she shared with her Master, Anakin Skywalker.

Upon entering, Ahsoka warred with herself on whether or not she wanted to talk to her Master about what had just happened between her and Barriss. On one hand, she was afraid to tell him, because attachment and thus, love, were typically seen as rather unbecoming of a Jedi, at least in her time period, making it seem like a very uncomfortable topic to talk about. However, on the other hand, Anakin did have a wife, along with kids apparently, at least, in the other timeline, so if anyone would understand, it’d be him.

Eventually deciding to just try to talk to him, Ahsoka approached Anakin’s room, which had its door shut and gave three quick knocks to no avail. So, slowly she turned the knob and peered in.

He was gone.

Strange, since she’d thought the only thing he’d been planning to do was spar with Obi-Wan, but then, it clicked.

He was probably with Padmé.

Understanding, but slightly disappointed that she now had no one to really talk to about this, Ahsoka shut the door to her Master’s bedroom and disappeared into her own, resigning herself to just trying to sleep off the grand amounts of stress and excitement that she was feeling from the day.

She could always talk to Anakin about it later, anyways.

There’d be time.

Ahsoka’s eyes slipped shut.

_She was running down a corridor, leading the way to… somewhere, as red lights flashed violently up above and the thudding sounds of feet sounded from behind her. Panic, fear, pain, anger and betrayal echoed throughout The Force all around her, making her feel, as though, she was slowly being suffocated by a trash compactor._

_She saw what she assumed was blood, splattered across the walls and painting them scarlet red._

_Then, the scene suddenly shifted and Ahsoka heard an infinite number of shouts sound, as she spun around._

_Suddenly, everything was a bright white and the only other being who she could feel and see was Barriss. There were no Jedi, no Sith, no problems, no Separatists, no Republic, no war, no time-travelers, no yesterday, no today and no tomorrow._

_Only them._

_Ahsoka smiled and so did Barriss, as they both leaned forward and kissed._

She awoke with a start, the strange dream continuing to echo in her mind’s eye. A burst of confusion engulfed Ahsoka and she wondered just what exactly had made her dream of something like that. However, after only a few minutes of considering why she’d dreamed of something so odd, Ahsoka found her eyelids begging to shut, once more, and so she drifted off, back into the realm of sleep.

* * *

After sparring with Obi-Wan, Anakin headed straight over to Padmé’s apartment, while his brother agreed to cover for him for the rest of the day and into tomorrow morning. He was filled with determination to see his wife, especially after how Dooku had prevented their last meet-up.

After a succession of three brisk knocks, he opened the door to see his beautiful wife, who eyed him with a small smile tugging at her beautiful, red lips.

“Tell me?” She began, flirtatiously, “what brings a Jedi, so handsome as yourself, to my door at such a late hour?”

“You flatter me, Senator,” Anakin flirted back, “for my level of handsomeness is nothing compared to the extent of your beauty… however, for the record, I think we both know that I am still nevertheless incredibly attractive, at least, much more so than that Palo guy from your Legislative Youth Program.”

With a playful laugh, Padmé grabbed her husband’s arm and led him inside of her or rather _their_ apartment.

“I’m so happy to be home,” Anakin sighed, bringing his wife in for a kiss, after she’d shut the door, which she eagerly returned.

“Yes,” Padmé replied, after finally breaking away, “I’m so happy you’re home too.”

There were a million things that Anakin wanted to talk to her about, with pretty much all of it regarding the future that Ben and Rey had spoke of: his turn to the dark side, Darth Vader, Luke, Leia, Han, Ben, The Death Star, her death, his terrible fallout with Obi-Wan and how afraid he was that he could end up walking down that path again, if he were not careful. However, there was a big part of Anakin that kept himself from opening up to Padmé about all of that, because he was afraid that if she found out who he would’ve become, she would suddenly realize that she made a huge mistake in marrying him and then, leave him behind like a forgotten relic to whittle away the rest of eternity alone.

So, Anakin spoke nothing of that matter, despite a small part of him that wanted to desperately.

Instead, after making some popcorn, he and Padmé decided to watch a holodrama about a lovestruck couple on the run. It was perfect, because it meant romance for Padmé and action for himself.

It was about a young smuggler named Lano Hos who fell in love with a beautiful, smart and talented woman by the name of Nala Aerigo, who he saved from slavers. They traversed the galaxy in their ship, the Fallen Mimicionu, doing jobs here and there and slowly moving from a relationship filled with constant bickering and teasing to one of deep understanding and love. In the end, however, they were both killed when a friend-turned-rival showed up, by the name of Seno Blo, who was angry, because Lano and Nala had, in his opinion, betrayed him, during a mission. At that point, the two had adopted a child named Renn Fyi and so, Seno Blo attempted to kill the child, in order to enact his revenge. However, Lano Hos and Nala Aerigo prevented this by providing the child a chance to escape, while they met their fates, together, in Renn’s place.

As the movie came to its end, Anakin turned his head ever-so-slightly, just so that he could see his wife, who was sheepishly wiping tears off of her cheeks.

“That was very well done,” Padmé finally praised the holodrama, after a few moments, once she’d finished covering up any remaining evidence of her tears, “it was just so sad, though.”

Anakin nodded in agreement, “yeah, it was pretty good.”

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a little while longer, as they finished off the remaining popcorn in the bowl and watched the end credits roll over the holoprojector.

In their silence, Anakin found his thoughts, once more, drifting, absent-mindedly, off towards the dark deeds of his other self in that alternate timeline. He still didn’t understand how that version of himself could’ve killed Padmé, his very own wife, and just why would he think that turning to the dark side would save her?

As the credits finally finished rolling, Anakin turned his body, so that he was facing in his beautiful, smart and talented wife’s direction. “You know how much I love you, right?” He asked with flickers of love and apprehension drifting across his gaze, his thoughts tainted by the tale of his hopefully alternate future.

He watched, as Padmé’s eyes blinked slowly in confusion, before love took over, completely, and she nodded, kissing her husband.

“Of course, I do, Ani,” she assured him, sincerely, as her deep brown gaze searching his blue, “and I love you, just as much.”

Anakin allowed his wife to pull him in for yet another kiss and let his dark thoughts rest for the moment. He loved his wife and she loved him. He wouldn’t become Darth Vader, he wouldn’t turn to the dark side and he wouldn’t kill her.

He would only love her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	38. Tenebrosity Encroaching on the Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey debrief Yoda, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka about their newest uncovered developments regarding Darth Sidious.
> 
> Wow... 10k hits. I never expected that in a million years. Thanks guys!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

The following day passed by quickly and Rey was more than relieved, when Sidious didn’t keep her for too long, afterwards.

As she worked her way through the busy Coruscanti traffic, with Ben in the passengers seat, in their small red and gold speeder, she found herself wondering what Master Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka would think upon hearing the news that it now appeared like things seemed to be moving way ahead of the original timeline’s schedule.

“You know, it’s almost funny that the exact thing that we’re trying to stop has so far only been sped up by our efforts,” Ben cracked, next to her, seeming to be thinking the exact same thing as she was.

“Yeah,” Rey supposed, before adding, “but then again, when do things ever go as planned?” 

Rey thought back to Starkiller Base, that one time that Poe had come back to the Rebel Base with the Falcon on fire, and how she and Ben had been shoved into the past, probably never to turn to their original timeline, again, which meant no Poe, no Finn, no BB-8… 

Rey shoved such dark thoughts to the back of her mind to think about later, because first of, she was flying and realized that she should probably be paying more attention to traffic, so that she didn’t accidently crash, and secondly, she quite honestly didn’t want to have to think about her friends from that timeline, because whenever she did, it just flooded her with feelings of deep sadness and an accompanying, dark depression, closely following. Both of which, she really didn’t feel equipped to deal with at the moment. So, her solution? Forced repression!

Once Rey had finally made it to the Jedi Temple, she parked the speeder and then, walked with Ben to Master Yoda’s quarters, after comming and asking Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka to meet up with them there, for news of a new development, in relation to Darth Sidious.

Upon reaching the Jedi Master’s quarters, Rey gave a couple of knocks, before the door finally opened with a fairly frivolous use of the Force and then, shut again, once they were both completely inside.

Master Yoda, Rey noticed, was seated on a short cushioned seat in the corner of the room.

“Sit you may. Sense I do that much to tell me you have” the old Jedi Grand Master observed, just as Ben and Rey, accepted his kind offer, as they made their way to a small couch, across from him and took a seat.

“We told Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka to come to,” Rey made sure to inform the Grand Master, who just nodded, as if he hadn’t expected any less. Then, the group sunk into a calm sort of silence, while they waited for the other three to arrive.

Obi-Wan was the first to arrive, offering them all a greeting, before taking a seat on a wooden stool. Shortly thereafter, Anakin and Ahsoka arrived, as well, together, and made their way over to another couch within the room, before sitting down.

Noting that everyone was finally here and settled, Obi-Wan’s cerulean blue eyes centered in on Rey, “what have you learned?”

Gathering her thoughts and subconsciously leaning against Ben, as a kind of support system, Rey went into depth about how Palpatine had first seemed to garner an interest in her, his increasingly rampant use of using Ben to try and make her question the Jedi Order and finally, Sidious’s menacing remark of how the Jedi would realize that they were wrong in their way of life, sooner than than expected, which had led her to believe that he was going to make his move very soon.

A chill seemed to settle throughout the room by the time that she’d finished, as everyone seemed to be working on taking in the dark implications of what she’d said.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Obi-Wan muttered under his breath, just as Ahsoka voiced a nervous question.

“Are you sure that he truly meant that he was going to strike soon, in saying that? Not.. not anything else?”

Ben shook his head with a seemingly foreboding sense of finality, “while we can’t completely sure, it does appear like that is exactly what he meant.”

Master Yoda, who had been silent up to that point finally spoke, throwing in this thoughts on the matter.

“Careful we must be, for powerful the dark side is. Increase security at the Jedi Temple and trust in The Force we will. A dark tragedy filled with death and destruction I feel is coming and unpreventable it will be, for the will of The Force it is. So, prepared for this tragedy we must be, if wish we do, at the end of all things, for the Jedi to rise and the Sith to fall.”

Rey watched, as Anakin shifted nervously and his concerned gaze flickered over to the wise, old Jedi Master, “if what Rey said is true and you feel death and destruction are in our near future, then shouldn’t we do something about it all, now?” Anakin protested, “who cares whether or not we have the evidence, we’ll find some evetually! We can… we can just… hold and interrogate Darth Sidious.  _ Make him _ confess!” His gaze flickered to her and Ben, “you do understand that that is the only option that we have now, right?  _ Right?” _

Before Rey or Ben could even begin to formulate a proper response, Obi-Wan was already speaking, “Anakin…” he sighed, “in doing that it’d only look like The Jedi Order was comitting treason against the Republic, so we’d essentially be doing Darth Sidious’s work for him. Anyways, I highly doubt that Sidious would actually give us any information, no matter what your interrogation ended up entailing,” the Jedi Master observed disapprovingly, “plus, that would all just give the galaxy, yet another reason to hate the Jedi, since Sidious is  _ The Chancellor _ , after all. Simply spoken, I am sorry, Anakin, but that plan is much too dangerous and way more likely to backfire than actually work.”

By the time that Obi-Wan had finished speaking, Anakin’s face had turned bright red with anger. However, surprising everyone, he was somehow able to reign his heated emotions back in, after a few moments, as he suddenly seemed to be truly thinking about the implications of what Obi-Wan had said.

Anakin’s eyes lit up apologetically.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered sheepishly in defeat, “I let my emotions get the best of me… and I suppose that now I can see how quickly that plan would probably backfire.”

Obi-Wan smiled reassuringly, “no worries, old friend.” Then, his gaze then shifted away from Anakin and instead, landed on Ben and Rey, once more. “Are you able to come up with an estimate, as to how long we have before Palpatine makes his move?”

A look of guilt slide of over both her and Ben’s faces.

“We can’t… it could be anywhere between tomorrow and a month from now,. After all, Darth Sidious is a man, who is very good at bidding his time, so it is rather difficult to narrow down the date. Besides, at this point, we only have our suspicions that it’ll be sometime soon,” Ben’s baritone voice sounded, somberly, beside her.

Obi-Wan nodded, as a haunted shadow fell over his eyes, disturbed by the response that he was given.

The six lapsed into a momentary silence, before Rey finally raised her voice, once more.

“Once Darth Sidious starts to enact his final plan, we should make sure that we have a way to quickly and discreetly notify the others,” she pointed out, to which everyone agreed, as they all nodded their heads in unison, before lapsing into another silence, as they debated what method they would use, in order to make sure that such a thing would be truly possible.

“I could probably build something,” Anakin finally offered up with a small shrug, “like a small device of some sort that would act as a kind of… panic button, I guess. It shouldn’t be too hard and if I start now, I could probably get it done tonight. Essentially, it’d be in a rather small, oblong shape, with a little button on the top that you’d press. Once pressed, it’d instantly send out a preprogrammed transmission to the others’ comlinks, as an alert, as to how Sidious’s plan was about to go down.”

“Excellent, I can help you if you want,” Obi-Wan proposed.

Anakin shook his head and laughed, invoking Obi-Wan to shoot him a look of mock offense.

“Sorry, Master, but you never have been the best with technology. I think that I’ll be fine and if I need any help, Ahsoka can always help me,” he remarked, shooting his apprentice a fond look.

Obi-Wan acquiesced with a nod of his head, although it was quite obvious that he was very amused by his former Padawan’s statement.

The group spoke for a little while longer, with Anakin promising to deliver the devices the following morning, before they all finally left, minus Yoda who’s quarters it had been in which they’d met up, as they all headed back to their own respective rooms.

* * *

As soon as Obi-Wan slipped into his room, he shut the door quickly behind him, before sinking into his room’s couch with a sigh.

So much had happened lately and so very quickly at that.

First the Clone Wars had begun, then Anakin had lost his hand in that fateful fight against Dooku, then Anakin had been knighted, leaving him all alone in this room full of memories both good and bad, then those time-travelers had shown up, speaking of a future so terrible that he found himself doubting that he could have dreamed it up, even if he’d tried and now, it looked like the time was drawing near, for when Darth Sidious would finally rise and try to strike them all down.

Obi-Wan wished that he could go back to before the Clone Wars and well everything. He wished that he could be Qui-Gon’s apprentice, again, so young and naïve, as to what the future had in store. Then again, even as Qu-Gon’s apprentice, life had never been peaceful nor easy, he supposed. After all, he hadn’t even wanted him as his apprentice at first, so much so to the point, where he’d actually initially been sent to AgriCorps, before his late Master had luckily finally come around and changed his mind, only to then, later throw him away, again, as soon as he lay his eyes on someone who he deemed as better.

The Chosen One.

Anakin Skywalker.

Obi-Wan still remembered the anger and rage that had coursed through him, upon first hearing that Qui-Gon wanted to just push him aside in favor of that young, golden-haired boy from Tatooine. It had just hurt so much to know that even after everything that he and Qui-Gon had gone through, together, and after how hard he had desperately worked to constantly prove his worth to his Master, he was just passed up in an instant, as soon as someone better and more powerful than himself came into his Master’s sights. 

Not that Obi-Wan blamed Anakin for any of that though, for none of that had really been his fault, of course.

More than that though, Obi-Wan remembered how heated things had been between himself and his Master, right before his death at Darth Maul’s blade, and how Qui-Gon had said nothing of his pride for Obi-Wan upon his death, but rather had instead only spoken of The Chosen One, the boy who in Qui-Gon’s eyes would always be better, whereas Obi-Wan himself had always seemed to simply stand as subpar at best.

Suddenly realizing how dark a path his thoughts were going down, Obi-Wan forcefully pulled himself out of them. 

Confusion marred his features, as he wondered why he had thought of such things. Topics that would only lead him to sadness and disappointment without reprieve, but then he felt it, like the first few tendrils of ice, beginning to encroach upon a chilled pond.

The dark side.

It was faint, but still there, creeping up along the horizon.

Obi-Wan shivered.

Ben and Rey were right, whatever was going to go down was going to happen very soon.

He could only hope that they’d all be prepared for it when it inevitably did and that The Force would be on their side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	39. Tendrils of Darkness and Patches of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey notices something off about Darth Sidious.
> 
> Obi-Wan sorts through conflicted feelings.
> 
> Dooku rots away in his cell.
> 
> Anakin realizes just how close they all are to the endgame.
> 
> Darth Sidious is a psychopath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Rey stood at attention, at The Chancellor’s side, with the communicator that Anakin had constructed, only the night before, weighing heavily in her pocket. 

She had to admit that she was amazed by how fast he’d managed to put it together and if he ever did want to leave the Jedi and lead a more normal life, she could see him definitely being able to become a very rich inventor. However, for Darth Vader related reasons, Rey hoped that he never actually did do that in this timeline.

Not that she felt like this Anakin was destined to become a Sith Lord, but she just thought that it was better to be safe, rather than sorry.

When the sun finally began to set over the horizon, Rey noticed something incredibly odd.

Darth Sidious hadn’t spoken to her today, not even once, which was… disconcerting, to say the least.

Even more, when they were dismissed, Rey was surprised to find that he dismissed her too, rather than asking her to hang back like he had the last couple of weeks, so that they could talk and although with that, his eyes seemed off too, almost as if he were staring off into oblivion and not really there.

Fear stirred within her.

Did he know? Was he suspicious? Was something wrong?

Nervously, Rey started to follow Ben out the door, but then stopped, just before she stepped through the frame, turning around. She felt a flicker of unease sound through her bond with Ben, in light of her choice, but ignored it.

“Chancellor?” She called out, as she slowly began to approach him, “are you alright?”

The Dark Lord of the Sith continued to seem very deep in thought, almost so much so, to the point where Rey could’ve sworn that he almost didn’t hear her. More than that though, Rey noticed what looked like a flicker of gold momentarily flash in the monster’s eyes, before they returned to their pseudo-blue.

Slowly, The Chancellor rose his gaze to meet her own and suddenly all of the tension flew out of his body, as he slipped back into his perfected façade.

“Of course, my dear girl, I am quite, alright. Nevertheless, thank you for your interest in my well being,” he paused, “I suppose that I might just be a little out of it, since there’s a few new bills that some of the Senators are working to pass and I just feel like they may not be entirely right or even ethical for the Republic to pass, so I’m doing my best to come up with a opposing statement, regarding them.”

If Rey had been almost anyone else, she might’ve believed him, however, she was not someone else and more than that, she knew who The Chancellor actually was.

“Well, I wish you the best of luck,” Rey told him with a falsley encouraging smile.

The Chancellor returned her fake smile with one of his own, “you are simply too kind,” he paused for a moment, as a look of disappointment sunk into his features, “and while I would love for you to stay and chat, I’m afraid that I have matters of great importance to attend to. Tomorrow though, we will have much to talk about to make up for this.”

“Of course, Chancellor,” Rey replied with a polite bow of her head, before leaving the room and joining up with a worried Ben.

As soon as, the door slammed shut behind her, unbeknownst to Rey, a sinister smirk encased the face of The Dark Lord of The Sith.

* * *

Obi-Wan left the Sparring Arena, after a solid two hour session and headed back to his room.

Once inside, he immediately went to fresher to take a cold shower, changed, brewed up some tea and then, grabbed his Temple-issued holoprojector from atop his desk, where it normally resided.

Obi-Wan brought both his tea and the holoprojector to his kitchen table and then, proceeded to just stare at the device for a long time, as his very being seemed to be slowly be pulled apart, piece by piece.

Ever since Rey had argued that attachment and love were not the same thing, Obi-Wan could not get his mind off of Satine Kryze.

Back when he’d been a Padawan and had spent that year, fighting for and defending the now Duchess, he had developed deep feelings for her that he was almost certain that she returned, and more than that, he knew that had she asked, he would’ve left the Jedi Order and joined her on Mandalore. However, she had not and instead, they had both resigned themselves to their own respective duties. Her as the Duchess of Mandalore and him as a Jedi.

But was that what he really wanted?

Did it matter what he wanted?

As a Jedi, he’d been told for as long as he could remember that attachment and thus, love were forbidden, because like the Jedi Code said: there is no emotion, there is peace, and there is no passion, there is serenity. Still, now that he thought about it, wasn’t that in itself a bit contradictory? For while the Jedi Code claimed that the Jedi needed push past their emotions, it also said that a Jedi must be serene and serenity was techniqually an emotion. Perhaps, he was wrong, though and just misinterpreting it.

His brain hurting from his antithetical thoughts, Obi-Wan did his best to reign in his focus, once more, so that he could recenter himself on the direct matter of which he was deliberating.

Should he try to contact Satine or should he just kill the past and try to move forward?

He wanted to talk to… _no_ , be with Satine.

Rey made a convincing argument that love and attachment were not the same thing.

The Jedi Code contradicted itself.

Obi-Wan reached his hand out towards the holoprojector, preparing to contact Satine, but then, just barely stopped himself before he did.

What if Rey was wrong? What if love and attachment were the same thing? What if he was wrong about the Code and he was making a grave mistake in even considering doing this?

He wanted to, but just because he wanted to didn’t necessarily mean that it was the right thing to do.

Obi-Wan sighed and covered his face in his hands.

He didn’t know what to do.

Just then, however, his comlink sounded, saving him from having to make a decision, at least for the moment.

Obi-Wan picked it up curiously and turned it on.

“Kenobi.”

* * *

Dooku's cell was cold and dark with every day the same as the last.

He woke up, ate, meditated, ate, thought of ways to escape, ate, and then, went back to sleep.

Momentarily, he meditated, having just ate the standard meal that was passed through his cell by a guard. Apparently, his fate was still being decided upon and it looked like a final decision wouldn't come to pass for quite some time.

As Dooku delved deeper into his meditation, he thought about his life and how every choice he had ever made had led him to this very moment.

His father leaving him to die as a child, being taken away to the Jedi Temple, his tough training with Master Yoda, his father's verbal and physical abuse at his mother's funeral, training Qui-Gon, leaving the Order, Qui-Gon's death, becoming Darth Sidious's apprentice and finally, his failure to kill Anakin Skywalker.

It was rather amusing, he supposed that no matter what he did, he always seemed to fail in the end.

First, his father hated him as soon as he found out that he was force sensitive, labelling him a "freak" and never worthy of his love. Then, he couldn't save his mother from death. His former Master, Master Yoda only saw him as a failed apprentice, when Dooku knew that he was right in leaving the Order and joining the Sith, because the Order had been corrupted by the Galatic Senate and needed to be stopped. He couldn't train Qui-Gon well enough to make it so that he be able to survive a duel with Darth Maul, who should've been way less experienced than his former Padawan. He'd lost his own sister's trust in his own darkness and rise to power, being forced to kill her. Darth Sidious was probably furious with his failure and could very well end up killing him for his incompetence and he couldn't even kill a young, hot-headed Jedi.

Always, it seemed like he was just destined to fall short.

Briefly, Dooku wondered what he'd do differently, if given another chance at life?

If he could just start again from scratch.

Quite honestly, he wasn't even really sure, whether or not he knew the answer to that question.

The familiar patter of footsteeps suddenly approached and Dooku quickly pulled himself from his thoughtful meditation, as his eyes flickered open and across the chamber to see who was coming.

As a shape slowly began to take place, he found that he didn't recognize the person, as one of his usual guards.

This person was older and dressed in Jedi garb, but something was very off about them. It was almost like they both were and weren't a Jedi at the same time.

But that would be crazy right? After all this place was so deep within the Jedi Temple that it seemed almost inconceivable that an outsider could make their way down here undetected.

Right?

However, before Dooku could deliberate on the topic any longer, the figure suddenly pulled out a thing that looked like a blaster.

They fired, point-blank.

Dooku's eyes widened in shock, as the dart sunk into his neck. He opened his mouth, in order to attempt to call out for help. However, it seemed that the dart must've been filled with some kind of poison, because his vocal cords already most certainly did not work and instead, only a strangled noise escaped him.

The figure smirked, before turning around and leaving him there. Dooku slumped to the ground and his mouth began to froth, as he gasped for breath in uneven rasps.

He let out a cry of pain, as the poison, suddenly seemed to attack his entire being, making him feel, as though he were burning from the inside out.

His entire life seemed to flash before his eyes, once more, and he found that he suddenly knew the answer to his earlier predicament, as to if he could start over, would he make different choices?

The answer: he would.

Just before, he slipped into unconsciousness and then, shortly thereafter, death, Dooku cursed the man who he knew had done this.

Darth Sidious.

Sheev Palpatine.

* * *

Anakin’s comlink sounded and curiously he picked it up, accepting the transmission.

“Anakin? It’s Obi-Wan, something terrible has happened. Somehow, an assassin was able to slip through the Temple unnoticed and assassinate Dooku. We still don’t know how the assassin did it, but the damage is done,” a momentary silence sounded from the other side, “I just thought that you might like to know.”

Dead.

Dooku was dead.

“Thanks, Obi-Wan,” Anakin quickly muttered back, before turning his comlink back off, once more, so that he could deliberate on the matter.

Part of him, the human part, was glad that Dooku was dead. After all, he did cut off Anakin’s hand, and it did just mean one more hit to the Seperatists and the Sith… unless Darth Sidious had planned this to make sure that Dooku didn’t talk.

To be honest, it didn’t really seem to be all too far-fetched.

Then, there was the Jedi in him that told him to think practically about the matter in itself. For instance, about how disturbing it was that that assassin had been able to sneak in and most likely, back out of the Temple.

How had they done that?

Had Palpatine done something? Had he maybe helped the assassin somehow? Was the assassin a Jedi? A Sith? A dark Jedi? A bounty hunter? Anakin wasn’t sure, but whatever had truly happened, to let such a thing occur, couldn’t be good.

There was a strangling darkness approaching, Anakin could feel it in The Force all around him.

It’d be soon, he knew, that he and all of the other Jedi would be put in a position, where they’d either manage to pull the steel-like hands, which were slowly closing in, from their necks or die trying.

Anakin could only hope that the Jedi weren’t wiped out in what he could feel was soon to happen, because with all the darkness that he could feel snaking through the air, whatever happened would certainly bring much death and destruction, like Master Yoda had only recently said. However, more than that though, Anakin hoped that at the end of all of this that the Jedi came out on the winning side.

He didn’t want to have to live in a galaxy ruled by the Sith, like the one that Ben and Rey had described, from their own timeline.

* * *

Darth Sidious turned off his comlink with a smirk, having just received news of his assassin’s success, in killing Dooku.

Everything was back on track again and going almost perfectly, according to his altered plan.

Still, there was one thing that Sidious had to admit that wasn’t going so perfectly. For while he was still completely on board with taking Rey on, as his next Sith Apprentice, he was beginning to feel a disturbance in The Force, whenever they were together.

It was almost like she was hiding something from him… something that she desperately didn’t want him to know.

Something very important.

At the end of the day though, the Dark Lord of the Sith would find out what it was and make certain that she’d stand at his side, so that they could rule the galaxy, together, albeit her rule being a bit more… metaphorical, he supposed.

Even if she didn’t join him in the end though, not all was lost, for he was very sure that when he executed Order 66, there’d be many Jedi younglings who would be put in a very vulnerable state. So, he could always just take his pick from one of them, until he found someone stronger.

In his mind, his plan was infallible.

There was simply no way that he could lose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	40. The Calm Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Barriss go out on their very first date.
> 
> Rey talks to Darth Sidious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Shadows flickered at the edges of Ahsoka’s vision, as she and Barriss made their way through Coruscant. It was rather late and so upon the darkening hour of the night, the two girls had decided to go get dinner, as a… first date, of sorts.

As Ahsoka made her way into a shabby, run-down restaurant with Barriss at her side, the smell of warm food and the surrounding feeling of indifference, regarding their true identities, filled her with excitement, for in walking into this restaurant, she and Barriss were officially dating and next to that, it also meant that she didn’t have to subject herself to the bland food back at the Temple.

As they were eventually seated in a small corner of the room and handed menus, Ahsoka found herself staring somewhat-subconsciously at Barriss and the intricate tattoos adorning her face in a gorgeous pattern of diamonds over her nose. She was just so smart, sweet and beautiful. Ahsoka still couldn’t believe that someone like Barriss Offee would want to be with her, since for one, Barriss was way out of her league, in Ahsoka’s humble opinion and secondly, dating like this in secret, meant that they were breaking the Jedi Code, something that she’d originally, quite honestly, thought that Barriss would never do under any circumstances. However, if what Rey had said was right about attachment and love, then shouldn’t the Jedi be actually encouraged to love? After all, it was love that saved Ben Solo and that alternate version of her Master.

Plus, it wasn’t like The Force itself seemed to be doing much of anything to prevent her from being with Barriss.

So, perhaps the Jedi Code truly was wrong, at least to some extent. After all, it wasn’t written by The Force itself, but rather old Jedi practitioners and people, even Jedi, were often known to err.

“I can feel your eyes on me, Ahsoka,” she heard Barriss’s amused voice sound in front of her, despite not having looked up from her menu.

Ahsoka felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment, “s-sorry,” she apologized, in a rather quick stutter, to which Barriss simply shook her head and laughed, before turning her fond blue-eyed gaze upon her girlfriend.

“I’m not asking for you to apologize, Ahsoka,” Barriss told her in her crisp Coruscanti accent with the beginnings of a smile on her lips, “I think it’s rather sweet actually.”

Ahsoka then watched, as Barriss then proceeded to lay her left hand out on the table, palm up and reluctantly expecting. So, in response, Ahsoka rose her own, as well, before laying it down upon her girlfriend’s own.

Ahsoka stared at their intertwined hands, for a moment, with a fond smile upon her face, before finally turning back to her menu.

After finally deciding upon what they wished to eat with the food arriving shortly thereafter, the pair dove into lighthearted conversation, filled with bliss.

“So you know how my Master’s always had a sweet tooth, right?”

Ahsoka’s eyes twinkled with mischief, as she excitedly prepared herself to finally get the chance to share the story with someone other than Obi-Wan and Captain Rex, who both found it downright hilarious.

Barriss nodded.

“Well, one day he was going to be sparring extra long with Obi-Wan and I’d finished all my work for my classes, so I had quite a bit of extra spare time. Anyways, after a few minutes, I got this idea into my head… and honestly, I still have no idea why, but I decided that it’d be pretty funny to pull a prank on, Anakin,” a small laugh escaped her, “so, I quickly went into town and bought some caramel, an apple… and an _onion,”_ Ahsoka laughed again, so much so to the point where she had to put her story on pause for about a minute.

Upon seeing such a lightness in Ahsoka’s demeanor, Barriss smiled lovingly, while she waited to hear the rest of the story with a semblance of an idea, as to where it was going.

“So,” Ahsoka continued, “when I got back to our quarters, I heated up the caramel and dipped the apple in it and then… then, I dipped _the onion_ in it.”

Barriss gasped, despite obviously knowing that that was the action that Ahsoka must’ve taken, before she’d even had a chance to speak it, “Ahsoka… you didn’t.”

A twinkle lit up in Ahsoka’s eyes, “except that I so did. When Anakin got back, I took the caramel apple and gave him the caramel onion,” Ahsoka paused momentarily for effect, “at first he seemed a bit skeptical, since I hardly ever attempt to make much of anything in the kitchen, but it smelled really good, so I guess it wasn’t too hard for him to eventually just decide to overlook that small fact. Plus, it was practically impossible to tell that it was actually an onion beneath all of that caramel, up until he took his first bite,” Ahsoka paused, as another laugh escaped her, “it was hilarious Barriss! And he was _so_ dramatic about it. He instantly got rid of the onion and then proceeded to say a series of words, some of which, I don’t even know the meaning of, while he drank, like literally, a _gallon_ of water. Once his mouth had finally stopped burning though, we laughed about it, together. It was so funny.”

Barris was laughing by the time that Ahsoka had finished and her eyes twinkled at the hilarity of her girlfriend’s story, before suddenly they seemed to turn a little sadder and more distant.

“Sometimes, I wish that things were more like that between Master Unduli and I,” Barriss confessed softly, as her eyes drifted off to the side, “but with the war and everything, it seems like she has no time or use for fun or levity.”

Ahsoka frowned and her smile disappeared from her face, as she glanced upon Barriss with a look of concern, before giving her girlfriend’s hand a small squeeze.

“At least you’ll always have me,” she promised the beautiful Mirialan woman, “because I’ll always be by your side, through life, death and anything in-between, so long as you’ll have me.”

A bit of the sadness seemed to drain away from Barriss’s face, replaced by a flicker of hope, upon hearing such a statement and she rose her shining, blue gaze to meet Ahsoka own.

“Thank you.”

* * *

As soon as their guarding hours had ended, Rey found herself, once more, standing next to The Chancellor: Darth Sidious, The Dark Lord of the Sith and her grandfather.

Together, they stared out onto the Coruscanti city streets below with Ben separated from her by only the towering, sturdy door on the other side of the room.

Despite that though, his force presence always seemed to linger in her mind, as if he was just waiting for Sidious to try something that would make it so that he had to swoop in and help her, since after all, it was best to take all necessary precautions, because both her and Ben could feel that the dark times were soon to come, if they weren’t able to put a stop to it first.

Earlier in the morning, Rey had found out about Dooku’s death from Anakin who had caught up with her and Ben, just before they had left. Oddly, no one was exactly sure who had been the one to actually carry out the task of killing Dooku, however, Anakin, Ben and her, at least, all seemed to agree that The Chancellor was ultimately the one behind it.

“How have things been with you and Master Solo, as of late?” The Dark Lord of the Sith finally asked, his eyes shifting from the window overlooking the city to fall on Rey’s own, as they seemed to burn with the hot fires of both curiosity and intensity.

Rey let a nervous light flicker through her eyes, “good, however, I must admit that I am still afraid that the Jedi will find out about us. After all, if they do, we may... we may end up being forced out of the Jedi Order and if that happened, I don’t know what we would do. I mean, we would have no money, no family and no connections,” Rey shivered, which wasn’t too hard given the circumstances, “I can only hope that it never comes to that.”

She watched, as a briefest flicker of satisfaction lit up in Darth Sidious’s eyes, before disappearing completely into the depths of his lying gaze.

“I shall hope for that too, my dear Rey,” he sighed, “however, just know that if the Jedi ever do find out and force you from their Order, I will always be there to help you both through it. After all, I am sure that it would be rather easy for me to find a position for you at my side, since I am The Chancellor, after all.”

Rey had to quickly slam some of her strongest shields into place, in order to make sure that the Dark Lord of the Sith did not sense the intense fear that rose up through her chest at such a statement. For the underlying implications of what he’d just said were incredibly dark and spoke of how that same tenebrosity from her original timeline was soon to come, if Ben and her weren’t able to stop it in time.

However, until either her or Ben got any concrete evidence, there was still most simply nothing that they could really do, besides continuing to prepare and wait for Sidious to slip.

* * *

The rest of the date had gone farely well, after dinner, Ahsoka had walked through the Coruscanti streets, side-by-side with Barriss, just talking and enjoying the late night air. Then, just before they made it back to the Temple, they’d shared yet another passionate kiss in an abandoned alleyway, hidden away from the watchful eyes of any potential onlookers.

So now, as she headed back to her quarters, Ahsoka’s heart felt lighter than it had been in a very long time.

As quietly as she could, in case her Master was sleeping, Ahsoka slipped through the door to her and Anakin’s shared quarters, before shutting it softly behind her.

Again, she found herself wanting to tell her Master about her new relationship with Barriss, so that she could get his thoughts on the matter and some much needed advice. However, upon hearing the soft sound of snores coming from Anakin’s room, Ahsoka decided against it. Her Master deserved to rest and there’d be more time in the future anyways to just tell him later.

Besides, it wasn’t like Darth Sidious was going to initiate his attack tomorrow.

That’d be crazy.

After all, Rey had said that they could have up to a month before anything happened, so Ahsoka was sure that in the near future, everything would be fine.

At least that was what she told herself.

So, upon ultimately deciding that such a confession could wait, Ahsoka strolled into her darkened room, disappearing into the shadows of the tenebrous night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	41. Dawning Light of Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Obi-Wan talk, after Anakin has another terrible vision of things possibly to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

_Pain… unbridled pain rippled throughout Anakin’s body._

_He was somewhere, he didn’t know where. However, wherever he was, it felt very familiar._

_The smell of blood filled his nose and everywhere he looked, it seemed to coat the walls like a sickening new paint job._

_Suddenly, the scene shifted and he found himself in the rubble of some structure, cradling a body in his arms. However, his brain refused to register just who they were exactly._

_Ragged sobs left him, as he pressed the body against his chest, like it was a lifeline, but he didn’t understand… why was he crying? Who was this?_

_Suddenly, the body’s hand reached out in a quick fluid-like manner, grabbing at his tunics in a tight, stiff grip._

_Whoever it was opened their eyes._

_They were blank, clouded and unseeing._

_“You could have saved me…” the voice hissed accusationally, as the being seemed to stare into the very depths of his soul. “This… this is all your fault… I… I hate you!”_

_Fear exploded within Anakin's chest._

_“What did I do?” He cried out frantically, “what did I do?”_

_Whoever it was, didn’t answer him. Instead, a trickle of blood began to slide from the corner of the person's mouth and they started to convulse, before lying still once more._

_Limp._

_Dead._

Anakin jolted awake with his heart seeming to race a million kilometers a minute.

The haunting words from the mysterious figure in his dreams haunted him. Who were they? Why did they blame him for their death? 

Was he having visions?

At the thought, Anakin found himself lost in a flashback of his mother’s death, when he had held her in his arms as she died and the unbridled pain that had followed.

He’d had visions back then too of her death and it had all turned out to be true, so did this mean that someone he loved was going to die again?

The thought terrified him, however, it made sense that the dream could very well be a vision, because when he’d been in it, he’d felt the same odd way that he did back when he was having visions of his mother’s death.

More than that though, he’d had that same odd feeling with all those other strange dreams he’d had, as of late, and even more odd, all of those dreams seemed to be very connected, even to this latest one.

So, was someone he loved going to die again?

The thought shook Anakin to his very core. Already he’d lost his mother to a terrible fate at the hands of the Tusken Raiders, and almost Obi-Wan too, only recently. He didn’t know if he could handle any more death and the accompanying pain that followed it. Especially, when it seemed like it was almost impossible to prevent, because he couldn’t tell who the kriffing person was!

These dreams or visions or whatever they were, were eating him out from the inside and he longed to break free from the darkness that lingered within them.

His whole life, especially since his mother had died, he wanted to make sure that he was always there to be able to help and protect the people who he loved, no matter what the kriffing Code said about attachments and letting go. For while he wasn’t really afraid of his own death, he was afraid of those he loved dying and leaving him all alone in the galaxy. 

If he ever lost everyone who he held dear to him, he quite honestly didn’t know what he’d do.

Wait, nevermind, he did, he’d become Darth Vader.

A Sith Lord, who committed atrocities.

Suffice to say, none of those thoughts were the least bit comforting, nor did they provide Anakin with any semblance of reprieve.

So, eventually and rather predictably, all of it just became too much and Anakin abandoned any last remaining thoughts of trying to get back to sleep. He glanced at the clock, to see that it was only 0100 and groaned. However, he still heaved himself out of bed, got dressed and then, quietly snuck out of his and Ahsoka’s shared quarters, heading off, in order to go see the one person in the Temple, next to Ahsoka, who he knew that he could rely on indefinitely and would still be awake, due to his insomniac tendencies.

Obi-Wan Kenobi.

It took Anakin all but five minutes to make it to his brother’s quarters, before knocking on the door and awaiting the allowance of his entrance.

Just like he’d guessed, due to the big insomniac that Obi-Wan was, he was quick to open the door with a hot cup of tea grasped stiffly in one of his hands.

“What are you doing here at such a late hour?” His former Master eyed him quizzically.

“Well, it’s good to see you too,” Anakin quipped back, to which Obi-Wan rolled his eyes exasperatedly, as if wondering what he had ever done to deserve having someone like Anakin in his life.

Then, almost as soon as the humor entered the room, it disappeared and Anakin turned back, once more, to his troubling thoughts and distressed attitude, as he collapsed on his brother’s couch. In response to his action, he felt a flicker of worry stirring within Obi-Wan through their bond. So, Anakin wasn’t very surprised, when he took a seat next to him on that same couch, before gently placing a concerned hand upon his shoulder.

“Anakin, what’s wrong?”

Anakin almost laughed at his brother’s question, because there was so much that was so very obviously wrong to the point where Obi-Wan asking him that question was actually pretty funny.

Instead, he just sighed, before telling Obi-Wan about the strange dreams that he’d been having, as of late, and how he was afraid that they could end up being visions of the impending death of someone he loved, just like the visions he’d had of his mother’s death.

Upon bringing up his mother’s death, however, Anakin thought he saw what almost looked like the briefest glimpse of a guilty look slide over his former Master’s features, before disappearing entirely. Anakin pushed any relating thoughts to the side, guessing that he might’ve just imagined it, because Obi-Wan didn’t blame himself for his mother’s death, right?

Right.

Even though Anakin still somewhat did.

“Are you sure that you aren’t sure of what they mean or who could be involved?” Obi-Wan asked him, once he’d finished recounting everything that he could remember from the supposed visions.

Anakin hesitated, for while a part of him wondered if they had something to do with Order 66 or Darth Sidious, he truly wasn’t entirely sure and so he was unsure, as to whether or not he should voice those thoughts, in the case that they were wrong.

Confliction rippled across his sky blue gaze.

“I’m not sure,” Anakin finally decided upon saying, after much thought, “and it… it scares me, Obi-Wan,” a haunted look suddenly seemed to consume Anakin’s gaze, “I just don’t know if I can handle losing yet another person who I love and… and if that’s what’s going to happen then… I don’t know, but… but the way that that person was just so angry and… and telling me that it was my fault… I… I c-can’t deal with that Obi-Wan. I don’t want to have to experience such pain and deep, incredible loss, again. It’s just… it’s just all too much,” a silent tear trekked down the left side of Anakin’s face and he quickly wiped it away with a flick of his hand, a flash of anger bursting within him, because he shouldn’t be crying! _No!_ He should be trying to fix this!

However, those angry thoughts were all but silenced, as Obi-Wan wrapped an arm around his brother, pulling him closer to himself and thus, allowing Anakin to lean on him. So, Anakin, lost in a world of tumultuous emotions, finally let his tears fall, drenching his brother’s robes in the process. However, Obi-Wan hardly seemed to care, as he just continued to hold Anakin, while he cried.

Once his sobs had finally died down, Anakin pulled away from his brother, feeling somewhat lighter and yet, a darkness still seemed to whisper within the heart of his mind’s eye.

After a few more moments of silence had passed without either of them speaking, Obi-Wan finally broke it.

“Anakin, perhaps these are visions or perhaps they are simply unfortunate dreams. However, if like you’ve said that you are unsure of what they mean or who will die, if anyone dies at all, for that matter, then, there’s no point in dwelling on it, because that will bring you nothing, but pain and suffering,” Obi-Wan paused in thought for a moment, “trust in the Force, my young friend, and I’m sure that in the end everything will be alright… and if these truly are visions, as you seem to believe they are, then maybe you’re getting them not as a warning, but rather as something to help you prepare for the inevitable. Whatever happens though, remember that I am and always will be there for you.”

 _Unless you’re the one who dies,_ Anakin thought traitorously.

“I know,” he voiced with a sigh, despite being dissatisfied with the answers that Obi-Wan had provided for him.

Obi-Wan, who seemed to pick up on that rather quickly, continued trying to lessen his former Padawan’s concerns, “I know that it can be hard to lose people, Anakin, but-”

A sudden flare of red flashed before Anakin’s eyes in his compromised, sleep-deprived state. How dare Obi-Wan insinuate that he knew what it felt like to experience loss! He’d never held his own mother in his arms, as she died with nothing that he could do about it! He didn’t understand what it felt like to lose someone close to you.

Anakin stood up, towering over his former Master.

“No, Obi-Wan,” he hissed, effectively cutting his former Master off, whose eyes widened in surprise, as if startled by the sudden mood swing, “I don’t think you understand what it’s like to lose the people you love. It’s not hard… _no,_ it’s horrible and terrible and just incredibly unfair. So don’t act like you understand, _Obi-Wan_ ,” he spat out his Master’s name like it was poison, “because you don’t.”

While Anakin had been speaking he hadn’t noticed the tension slowly building up within his former Master, whose eyes had also begun to darken with a rare glimmer of anger.

“I think we both know that that’s not true, Anakin,” was all Obi-Wan said in turn, his voice low and devoid of emotion, despite the expression on his face. Then, shortly thereafter, Obi-Wan just seemed to deflate, as he presumably managed to release his anger into the Force, leaving him suddenly just looking very sad and far away.

At first, unthinkingly, a fresh burst of childish anger rose up in Anakin Skywalker, angry that his former Master would even attempt to refute him in such a fruitless manner, but then the more that he began to think about what his brother had said, the more he felt an uncomfortable feeling stirring within his chest.

_Kriff._

He’d forgotten about karking Qui-Gon Jinn.

Anakin froze and his anger immediately drained from his body.

“Obi-Wan,” he breathed, as regret began to fill him, “I’m really sorry… you’ve been so kind to me and I really shouldn’t have said that. I know… I know that Qui-Gon’s death,” Obi-Wan stiffened at the reminder “was hard on you and I’m really sorry that I let it escape my mind, so callously.”

For a few moments Obi-Wan was silent, as he seemed to be working to recollect himself. However, soon enough, any sign that he’d been emotionally compromised was gone and he was back to his usual self.

“It’s alright, Anakin,” his former Master breathed, before he too made his way to his feet.

Except that it wasn’t alright. 

Obi-Wan always did this, he always worked to help others to a fault and took on blame that shouldn’t be his own, upon his own shoulders. It happened everywhere and all the time. However, before Anakin had always just been too wrapped up in his own problems to do anything about it and while he still was quite wrapped up in his own problems, he knew that Obi-Wan deserved more than he’d received from life.

“You don’t always have to do that, you know?” Anakin finally inquired, to which Obi-Wan arched a confused brow.

“Do what?” He asked in his posh-sounding Coruscanti accent.

“Always take on other people’s problems, while constantly struggling with your own all by yourself. Never asking for help or sometimes even an apology.”

Anakin watched as Obi-Wan stiffened, once more, obviously not particularly liking the direction in which the conversation was heading.

“I don’t think that I understand what you mean, Anakin,” his former Master bit back lowly.

“Yes, you do,” Anakin protested, “I mean, you do it all of the time, Obi-Wan.”

“Maybe you should get some rest, Anakin. You can sleep in your old room, if you want.”

Anger filled Anakin, once more, at Obi-Wan’s attempt to deflect the conversation away from himself, but then he forced himself to release that emotion into the Force. After all, he did his best to remind himself, getting angry right now would do nothing for this situation and probably only make things worse.

He sighed, forcing his Master’s weary-looking eyes to meet his own.

“Just… if you ever need to talk to someone about your problems, I’m here for you too… you know that, right? I mean, I know that sometimes I can be brash and unthinking, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you and your problems,” Anakin sighed, before continuing, “you shouldn’t have to constantly carry both others and your own problems on your shoulders, because I mean, you’re probably one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met! So, if you ever need someone to talk to about… about, well, anything, I’ll be there too,” Anakin promised, before making his way towards his old room.

He waited for Obi-Wan to say something… anything, however after several minutes of silence, Anakin eventually gave up and headed towards his old room.

“Anakin, wait!”

He halted in his movements, momentarily, before turning around to face Obi-Wan, whose eyes suddenly seemed to be filled to the brim with what appeared to be a million conflicting emotions. He watched, as his brother then proceeded to make his way back over to the couch, before sitting down with Anakin quickly following suit.

A silence lapsed for a few seconds, before Obi-Wan finally spoke.

“I’ve been thinking of reconnecting with Satine,” his former Master finally spoke, his voice soft, while Anakin’s brows rose in surprise, “however… I suppose that I… that I’m afraid of doing so, because while I agree with what Rey said, I also still find myself well… hesitant, I suppose, to break the written Code.”

Anakin nodded. For while Obi-Wan did tend to sometimes make exceptions, it was incredibly obvious to anyone who knew him that he had trouble with that.

“Well, then perhaps you should ask the Force what to do, rather than the Jedi Code. Maybe it can answer your questions.”

Obi-Wan sighed, “maybe… but anyways, enough of this talk. It’s incredibly late…” Obi-Wan glanced at a small clock in the corner of the room, which now read 0200, “or early now, I guess,” he amended, “we should probably both get to sleep.”

While Anakin wanted to continue talking to Obi-Wan, he knew that his former Master was right and so, with a small nod, Anakin got to his feet, once more, and headed off into his old room.

Laying down in the old bed, Anakin was surprised by how fast sleep seemed to tug at his eyes. Before talking to Obi-Wan he’d thought that he’d be unable to fall back asleep for the rest of the night. However, after confiding in Obi-Wan about the visions he’d been having, he found that sleep actually happened to come rather quickly and so, Anakin let his eyes slip close, as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	42. Infernal Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey head off to go guard The Chancellor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

It was early in the morning, about 0600, when Rey woke up. Rolling over to her side, she smiled, to see that Ben was still fast asleep and softly snoring. 

A lock of hair seemed to have fallen out of place during his slumber, leaving it to now droop over his face in an incredibly cute manner. So, gently, Rey brushed it out of his face and back into its rightful place with the rest of his hair.

Ben slowly blinked awake with a small smile tugging at his lips, “good morning.”

“Good morning.”

After a few more minutes, Rey got out of bed with Ben following her shortly thereafter, once he’d finished groaning about how ungodly early it was. Then, she got dressed, grabbed two protein bars, for both herself and Ben, and finally, made them both some tea. Carefully, Rey then carried the food and drinks over to a small table in the center of the room, fitted with two seats and gently, set their breakfast down.

Just as she was taking a seat, Ben finally came out of the fresher, dressed in his now usual Jedi Temple issued attire, which was brown and cream in color, very closely resembling his namesake’s attire, in fact.

As Ben joined her at the table, he picked up his bar and began to eat it, while she ate her own in a tranquil silence. Then, once both of the bars and teas were finished, Ben took their mugs and washed them, while Rey threw out their bars’ wrappers.

Then, having gotten ready for the day, they walked out the door, down the endless hallways of the Jedi Temple that they’d finally gotten used to, got into their speeder with Ben piloting, and finally, headed into the Senate Building.

However, almost as soon as Rey walked into the building, any semblance of peace that she and Ben had managed to create that morning seemed to vanish, as a dark sense of foreboding suddenly took over, seemingly desperate to strangle out all of the light within her.

It was so cold.

From her experience, Coruscant was almost never cold.

Something was terribly wrong.

Rey shivered, as she glanced over at Ben, in order to try and decipher if he felt the same way as she did. She quickly assumed that he must, because Rey noticed that his face had turned a shade paler and she could practically read the worry stirring within his eyes, before he quickly covered it up with a practiced mask.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Ben mumbled, as they made their way into the turbolift that would take them up to The Chancellor’s office.

Rey nodded in agreement, as both the Force and her instincts seemed to scream at her to get out of that kriffing building and run as far away as she could, the closer and closer that they got to The Chancellor’s office.

“So do I.”

Stepping out of the turbolift, the two made their way towards The Chancellor’s office, making the feeling of claustrophobic darkness only heighten in magnitude the closer and closer that they got.

Despite both the Force and something instinctual within her continuing to tell her to turn tail and run, Rey forced herself onwards and only strengthened her shields, in response, as she opened the door and stepped inside of The Chancellor office, with Ben following closely behind.

The sight that met them was a rather surprising one.

As soon as they entered, The Chancellor quickly approached them with worry etching extra lines into his face that made him appear older.

“Rey,” he began with notes of deep sadness and foreboding in his tone, “something terrible has happened. Anakin came to me yesterday, asking for advice on some grave news that he had discovered. Somehow he found out about you two and he’s going to tell the Jedi Council,” The Chancellor sighed, looking perturbed, “I tried to stop him but… well, as you may already know, once Anakin sets his mind to something, he doesn’t usually change his course.”

A flicker of fear raced up Rey’s spine at the Sith’s words, as she realized that both her and Ben would have to be very careful from this moment on.

They were in the endgame now.

Sidious was lying, because she knew for a fact that no such thing had ever occurred between him and Anakin. Anakin had known about her relationship with Ben for quite a while now and seemed fine with it. Plus, he had a wife of his own, anyways, so he would never tell the Jedi Council of such a thing without being allowed to. Plus, they were… friends now, she supposed, and friends didn’t do that kind of thing to each other. Then, there was also how Anakin knew who Sheev Palpatine really was now, so she doubted that he’d ever even really dream about asking him for assistance in such a matter, in the first place.

Of course though, Darth Sidious didn’t know any of that and Rey would have to keep it that way, if her and Ben wanted to make it out of this exchange alive and hopefully with evidence.

“Oh Force,” Rey breathed, fearfully, forcing herself to keep up the act, as her terrified eyes flickered from The Chancellor’s to Ben’s own, who’s fearful eyes mirrored hers, “he can’t… I- I w-won’t let him. Ben and I have spent our whole lives working day after day for the Jedi Order. He… h-he can’t just t-take it all away from us… h-he can’t.”

“We won’t let him,” Ben’s assured baritone voice sounded next to her, riddled with practiced anger and fear.

“I’m afraid that it may already be too late,” Chancellor Palpatine sighed, turning away from them, as if saddened by the whole situation, “however,” he continued, his voice lowering, “I believe that I could help you both… for a price.”

A flicker of a million emotions burst through Rey at Darth Sidious’s insinuation. 

Was The Chancellor finally going to give away that he was actually the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious?

Were they finally going to get the evidence that they so desperately needed?

“And for that price, I can give you the power to stop him,” Darth Sidious finished, however this time in a much more direct and commanding tone. Then, the Dark Lord of the Sith turned around and when he did his eyes were no longer that pseudo-blue color, but rather a stark, menacing yellow that seemed to stare into the depths of the Dyad’s souls.

“You’re the Sith Lord,” Rey breathed, hoping to finally get him to admit to it for the recorder and because Darth Sidious was so certain of his power and invincibility, he fell for the bait.

Instantly.

“Yes,” he spoke, his tone of voice now sounding much more like it had back on Exegol, rather than the fake grandfatherly one that he normally seemed to use in this timeline, “I am Darth Sidious.”

They had it, Rey realized, as relief swam through her. They had the evidence. Now, they just needed to get out of here alive, so that they could give the irrefutable evidence to the Courts.

However, in her moment of excitement, Rey just so happened to accidently let her shields drop for the briefest of moments.

A moment was all it took for Darth Sidious to reach into her mind and sense her elation, happiness and relief.

A cruel, dark laugh twisted the Sith Lord’s features.

“You are a spy,” he accused and if Rey had thought him to be menacing earlier, now he was downright terrifying, just like he was back on Exegol, “the Jedi sent you, did they not? I must say that I am impressed… however, now that I know this I’m afraid that I’m going to have to plan a premature accident. For you and the rest of the Jedi, I suppose, since I am uncertain of how much they know and anyways, I wouldn’t want them to try again.”

The Dark Lord of the Sith lifted a hand and suddenly, Rey and Ben found themselves frozen in place.

Rey panicked, trying desperately to break free of the Sith Lord’s grip.

Darth Sidious sighed, “I had such high hopes for you, my dear Rey.” he traced a slender finger down her jawline that Rey tried desperately to pull away from to no avail and felt a surge of anger through her bond with Ben. “So, I must say that you have truly disappointed me,” he continued, before pausing, “however, I suppose that not all is lost. I can always find another.”

Then, paying them no heed, Darth Sidious grabbed a holoprojector, pulled his hood over his head and then spoke in a voice filled with darkness.

“The time has come. Execute Order 66.”

“No!” Both Ben and Rey screamed in unison, managing to break free of Darth Sidious’s forced grip in their shared moment of horror.

The Sith Lord seemed surprised by their reaction, since he’d probably assumed that they had no idea what Order 66 was. However, he was back to the present in a flash, as Ben pulled his white plasma blade from his belt and flung himself at the evil Sith Lord, who met him with two of his own red plasma blades that slipped from his sleeves, while Rey frantically hit the button on the device that Anakin had created, which would transmit the dire message of warning to Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and Master Yoda. Then, despite desperately wanting to help Ben as soon as possible, who was currently locked in a vicious battle against the Sith Lord, she grabbed her comlink from her belt and sent a message to Master Yoda.

“Sidious has executed Order 66.”

Sending the message, Rey stored the comlink back on her belt, before leaping into the fray.

The Sith Lord laughed madly, as he fought them, while focusing one lightsaber on each with a precision and agility that Rey had quite honestly never really seen before in any other lightsaber wielding opponent she’d gone up against, much less someone Sheev Palaptine’s age.

Both Ben and Rey, realizing that they were incredibly outmatched, very quickly, abandoned pretty much all of their offensive tactics for much more defensive ones. 

They just needed to hold him off until back-up got there.

Hopefully sooner than later.

Rey watched in horror, as Sidious used a powerful Force push to send Ben flying into a wall across the room, before leaping from his position in a flying, acrobatic leap, in an attempt to finish off a still recovering Ben.

“No!” Rey cried out, using the Force, so that she too could fly across the room and block the Sith’s blades, which were only millimeters from Ben’s neck, before she blocked them.

Ben, who had pressed himself against the wall in a desperate attempt to escape the blades, was quick to reach out into the Force and reclaimed his lightsaber, which had been laying only a few meters away in the aftermath of Sidious’s Force push. Then, igniting it, once more, he used it to help Rey push the blades back and away from his neck.

“Impressive,” Darth Sidious cackled, as Ben leapt back up to his feet, still pressing up against one of Palpatine’s red plasma blades, while Rey kept her blade locked on the other one, invoking a predatory light to slide into Sidious’s gaze as he pushed his blades back harshly against their own, forcing them backwards, “but... not good enough.”

In a blink or miss it moment, Sidious suddenly parried Ben’s blade away from him and off to the side, disengaged the blade that he used to do so, and finally, sent a painful wave of lightning straight into Ben’s now unprotected chest.

Rey watched in horror, as Ben was flung back across the room, once again, with the power of the Force lightning, as he let out inhuman cries of sheer agony, while his body twisted and convulsed on the ground.

“No,” Rey breathed, “no, no, no, no, _NO!”_ Desperately, she called Ben’s fallen lightsaber to her hand and twisted it to the side, in order to prevent the lightning streaming from Palpatine’s fingers from hitting Ben any longer. All the while she continued to engage the Sith Lord’s remaining blade with her own in a rapid flurry of movement, while her mind twisted with anger at the thought of what he’d done to Ben Solo.

“Good. Good,” Sidious encouraged her, “I can feel your anger. _Use it!”_

Rey growled and instead, forced herself to let go of her anger, by releasing it into the force, refusing to give Darth Sidious any amount of satisfaction. 

“No,” she hissed, “because unlike you, I’m not weak enough to Fall into the depths of the dark side.”

Darth Sidious simply laughed at that, before stilling his now fruitless attempts of attacking Ben with force lightning and engaging his other lightsaber, once more, catching Rey in an intense blade lock, as sparks seemed to fly from their clashing lightsabers, oddly green in color.

“I will give you one more chance, my dear Rey,” the Dark Lord of the Sith hissed, “join me and I will let you both live… however, if you refuse my final offer, then the both of you will _die.”_

Rey’s eyes narrowed, “I’d rather die than side with the likes of you.”

For a moment, she thought she saw a look of unbridled disappointment flash across Darth Sidious’s face, but almost as quickly as it was there, it was gone, leaving her wondering, if it had ever even been there at all or if she had only imagined it.

“So be it… _Jedi,”_ the Sith Lord hissed, to which Rey only smirked.

“Oh, I am no Jedi.”

_At least not in this timeline._

A look of pure confusion flashed across Sidious’s face, but he didn’t question her words, instead, he only seemed to increase the ferocity of his attacks

Suddenly, a flicker in the Force notified her that Ben had finally recovered enough from his assault to rejoin the battle and a burst of relief soared through her. So, using their powerful Force bond, Rey sent his lightsaber back to him through the Force. This caused a flicker of shock to reverberate through the Sith Lord, as the lightsaber seemed to magically materialize in Ben Solo’s hand.

“How did you do that?” Darth Sidious demanded to know, his yellow eyes glinting, as they flickered between the pair, while still engaging with his vicious fight with Rey.

“Well, if you’re planning on killing us, I guess you’ll never find out,” Ben quipped back, before leaping back into the fray, once more.

The Dark Lord of the Sith’s eyes narrowed in anger.

Moving quickly, the two worked to deflect what seemed like a million blows and slashes that always seemed to cut close to just barely dismembering them, piece by piece.

Rey suddenly gasped out in pain, as one violent slash managed to tear through her shoulder. Luckily though, it didn’t seem too fatal and so, she forced herself to push past the pain by releasing it into the Force like she’d learned.

Ben didn’t seem to be fairing all that well either. 

He already looked slightly charred from having been electrocuted and next to that, it looked like the Dark Lord of the Sith had managed to get a few glancing blows on him too, judging from the state of his torn tunics and the trickle of blood from a small cut just below his left eye.

Darth Sidious let out another deranged laugh, as he observed their sorry state, before sending a powerful Force push their way that forced them back, disengaging his lightsabers and then, sending powerful waves of lightning at them both, which they desperately worked to counter with their lightsabers. However the more and more that the Sith Lord struck out at them with the Force lightning, the more and more powerful it only seemed to get.

“Power!” The Dark Lord of the Sith cried out, “unlimited power!”

He was just too powerful and Rey could sense that both herself and Ben were only continuing to weaken underneath his unrelenting attack.

They needed help soon or else, they were seemingly destined to lose their hold against Sidious’s powerful Force lightning attack and succumb to painfully violent deaths at the hand of the Sith Lord.

Rey clenched her jaw and her eyes narrowed, as she channeled all of her energy into deflecting the lightning from her body with her white plasma blade.

She felt so alone and feared that no one would arrive in time.

At that thought, a dark feeling curled in her stomach, as she began to truly realize that she and Ben could die here at Darth Sidious’s cruel hands and the implications that would follow, because if they did, then no one would be able to give the recorders to the Courts, the Jedi would be wiped out, once more, if they weren’t already and nothing would change, besides Luke and Leia no longer existing, which could very well mean that the Empire would last much longer than it did in her own time.

Essentially, unless Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and Master Yoda somehow made it here very quickly, the entire galaxy would quite be plunged into an eternal darkness.

Rey could feel her ability to deflect the lightning stretching thin and knew that it was only a matter of time, before both her and Ben would fall under the seemingly insurmountable power and die.

However, just before Ben and Rey fell to Sidious’s incredible power, the door to The Chancellor’s office was flunge violently from its hinges and launched across the room, slamming into the window with such great force that it actually shattered it and fell into the city streets below with a shining waterfall of glass trailing after it.

Darth Sidious halted in his Force lightning attack and pulled out his stark, red lightsabers, as a scowl overtook his face.

Two Jedi strolled into the room, past where the door had once been and dramatically shrugged off their cloaks, letting them fall to the floor.

Obi-Wan Kenobi smiled, humorlessly.

“Hello there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	43. Falling Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and Master Yoda all meet up to discuss what they’re going to do after receiving Rey’s distress signal and warning of Darth Sidious executing Order 66.
> 
> Anakin and Obi-Wan head to The Chancellor’s office to help Ben and Rey defeat Darth Sidious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Ahsoka raced towards Master Yoda’s quarters. 

Only moments ago they’d all received the distress signal from Rey and knew that something must have gone horribly wrong. So, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Master Yoda and her had all decided to meet up in Master Yoda’s quarters, via their comlinks, in order to make a decision on what their next move would be.

Upon her arrival, Ahsoka found that both Obi-Wan and Anakin were already there with her own restlessness and worry seeming to reflect in their eyes.

Her bright blue eyes flicked away from Obi-Wan and her Master to land on Master Yoda, who seemed deeply disturbed. While Ahsoka supposed that he could just be worried about Ben and Rey, something in Ahsoka told her that that was not the only reason for his rare state of distress.

“Executed Order 66 Darth Sidious has,” the Grand Master informed them, confirming her suspicions.

Ahsoka gaped, as she stared at the elder Jedi in shock. Surely, he had to be wrong. If the Force had sent Ben and Rey here to prevent a dark future, such as the one that they’d described, it wouldn’t also seek to eliminate the Jedi in such a cruel manner, once again, right?

Unless there was more to why they were here than just saving the Jedi.

She brushed such a dark thought to the side, in favor of thinking of Barriss. To her knowledge her Mirilian girlfriend was still at the Temple, where she’d hopefully be a little safer. However, what if she wasn’t? What if she was out on some mission that she’d forgotten to mention? 

What if she was dying?

“We have to warn everyone!” Ahsoka finally demanded, having recovered at least somewhat from her initial shock, as a newfound resolve filled her, to make sure that she would do everything in her power to protect Barriss.

Master Yoda nodded, “already informed everyone I have. Heading to the Temple entrance all Knights, Masters and Senior Padawans are and hidden away all Younglings and other Padawans are,” he paused for a moment, as if deep in thought, before continuing, “now go help Ben and Rey we must.”

Obi-Wan frowned next to her, “shouldn’t some of us stay here at the Temple, in order to help defend it?”

Yoda hesitated for a short moment before acquiescing. “Yes, right you are, Master Kenobi. Help protect the Temple Ahsoka and I will.”

Ahsoka felt torn, for while she did want to help defend the Temple and find Barriss, she also wanted to help take down the Sith Lord who had done this to all of them.

“Master Yoda, are you sure?” She protested, “Ben and Rey are going to need all of the help that they can get. I should be going with Anakin and Obi-Wan. I should be helping take down the real threat.”

Before Master Yoda could even conjure up a reply, her Master was already speaking.

“Ahsoka, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Obi-Wan and I will be able to do it ourselves. It’s too dangerous, anyways, and you’ll be much more needed here.”

Ahsoka bristled at his words, “why don’t you trust me?” She bit back, hurt.

Anakin let out an exasperated sigh, “Ahsoka, you know that’s not what I meant.”

“Are you sure? Because whenever the big things go down, you always try to sideline me, Master. Eventually, you’re just going to have to realize that I’m not still a Youngling and am rather capable of being of actual assistance.”

Obi-Wan shifted, uncomfortably, “Ahsoka-” he tried to interject, but his former Padawan cut him off before he could say anything more.

“That’s not what I’m doing, Ahsoka,” Anakin retorted back, defensively, “it’s just that we both know that you’re incapable of taking down a Sith Lord like Darth Sidious. So, you’re going to stay here and stop complaining like the Youngling you say you aren’t.”

Heat rose to Ahsoka’s face and hurt exploded in her chest.

She spun around and fled Master Yoda’s quarters.

“Ahsoka, wait!” She heard her Master call out behind her, but she didn’t stop and only sped up her pace in her quest to make it to Barriss and everyone else.

As Ahsoka walked, she replayed Anakin’s words in her head on repeat and only felt herself growing more and more sorrowful, as she continued to do so. Was that really how he saw her? As a Youngling? For her entire apprenticeship to him, she’d always been a bit insecure about people thinking that she was still too young to be trained, especially by such a renowned Jedi like Anakin Skywalker. Nevertheless, her Master had always been quick to assure her that he didn’t see her as too young, but now, she wasn’t so sure. After all, when people got upset didn’t they tend to sometimes let out the deepest and cruelest truths of which they so often tried to keep hidden?

Was Anakin thinking of her as some useless, complaining Youngling one of those truths?

Then again, if that was truly all that he thought of her, then why was she still his Padawan? Perhaps, he’d just been caught in the heat of the moment and said that irrationally, after all she knew that that was something that Anakin tended to do.

Suddenly, she felt foolish for storming out of there like that. It was completely unbecoming of a Jedi and Anakin hardly deserved to have to deal with even more stress on top of learning about that terrible alternate version of himself and knowing that he was about to go up against an incredibly powerful Sith Lord, who had basically destroyed his life in that other timeline.

For a moment, Ahsoka halted in her footsteps, debating whether or not she should go back to apologize for acting so childishly, but then, upon realizing that Anakin and Obi-Wan had probably already headed out by that point, she instead pressed onwards in a fast paced run, once more determined to find Barriss.

She could always apologize to Anakin later.

Plus, maybe after she apologized, she’d finally get the chance to tell him about her and Barriss too.

* * *

“Ahsoka, wait!” Anakin called after his Padawan to no avail. Already, he felt terrible for essentially calling her a Youngling. After all, he knew that it was one of her greatest fears that people would only see her, as too young to be trained and as such, only a weak liability.

Still, while part of him yearned to run after his former Padawan and apologize for his unfair words, the rational part of him knew that that would have to wait until later. Right now, he and Obi-Wan needed to get to the Senate Building, as fast as possible, to help Ben and Rey, who were probably already engaged in a battle against Darth Sidious.

He wondered what had gone wrong.

With one last glance towards where his Padawan had disappeared, he turned his attention back to Master Yoda and Obi-Wan, the latter who eyed him with concern, probably guessing at how horrible he felt, after his brief argument with Ahsoka.

“We should probably go now,” Anakin asserted, as he met his former Master’s brilliant cerulean blue gaze, while pushing any remaining last thoughts about his argument with Ahsoka to the side, at least for the moment.

Obi-Wan nodded, “we should.”

So without further ado, the two Jedi bid the Grand Master goodbye, before sprinting from his quarters and down the numerous hallways towards where they could get a speeder.

Upon reaching the Temple’s selection of speeders, Anakin paused for a moment, as he looked for one that he liked, before running to an orange and white one that still looked fairly new and fast with Obi-Wan quickly following behind him in pursuit.

Anakin hopped into the driver's seat.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan sighed, “I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but just this once, I’m allowing you to do whatever death defying stunts you can, as long as they speed up our arrival to the Senate Building.”

Anakin let out a feral grin, as he took off at a speed that was quite obviously way over the limit, making Obi-Wan blanch and grip the side of the ship like it was a lifeline.

“It’s not like you’re going to die, Master,” Anakin teased him, as he swerved through traffic at a breakneck speed, “plus, you were the one who told me to do this… so technically, this is your fault.”

“Just be careful, Anakin,” Obi-Wan hissed between his gritted teeth, as Anakin barely missed crashing into yet another vehicle.

“I’m always careful Master,” Anakin teased back, as he swerved the speeder to the right and then dove down, sharply, in a death defying stunt, as he headed towards another surge of traffic that he needed to get to beneath them.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan protested, as his eyes widened in horror at what he probably thought was their impending doom. “Anakin, pull up! Anakin! _Anakin!”_

Anakin managed to pull up just in time to merge perfectly with the traffic that had once been below them.

He turned his head to face his brother, “see Obi-Wan? I told you I’m careful.”

Instead of answering him, Obi-Wan’s face just somehow managed to grow even paler, as he tightened his grip on the speeder even more than he had been before, until his knuckles turned white.

_“Anakin!”_

Anakin sighed, turning his attention away from Obi-Wan’s hopeless state of distress and back to traffic, when he suddenly realized that it had slowed down considerably in those past few seconds, when he quite honestly hadn’t really been paying much attention to it, leaving him with a high probability of crashing into the guy in front of him very soon if he didn’t do something about it now.

“E chu ta,” Anakin hissed, a phrase that Obi-Wan would’ve definitely have scolded him for, if he weren’t so focused on trying to not pass out. He pulled up sharply, while swerving to the left, just barely avoiding hitting the speeder in front of him or anyone else for that matter.

“See, Master,” he smirked cockily, as he continued to deftly push the speeder to its limits, “everything’s fine.”

After a few more death defying stunts that almost gave Obi-Wan several heart attacks, Anakin finally pulled up to the Senate Building and leapt from his seat with Obi-Wan quickly following behind him, after heaving a sigh of relief, since Anakin’s suicidal flying stunts were finally over.

Anakin raced up the steps and practically threw himself into the nearest turbolift alongside Obi-Wan, as they quickly set it to head to the level where The Chancellor’s office was, which was most likely where Ben and Rey also were at the moment.

Anakin hoped that they’d managed to hold their own so far.

After several seconds the turbolift finally came upon the correct floor and the door opened. The two Jedi then proceeded to spring out of it and race down the numerous hallways towards The Chancellor’s office.

Upon arriving, Anakin watched as Obi-Wan’s muscles strained against the doorknob.

“It’s locked,” he sighed, “I suppose we could cut through it with-”

Anakin didn’t let Obi-Wan finish. If they cut through the door with their lightsabers that would most certainly give Darth Sidious an advantage, since he’d have more time to prepare for their arrival. So instead, he tapped into the Force and used it to send a powerful burst of energy into the door, which sent it flying off of its hinges, across the room and into the wide window in the back. This managed to successfully shatter the window and thus, the door and a cascading waterfall of glass were sent down into the Coruscanti streets below.

“Or we can just do a million credits worth of property damage,” Obi-Wan muttered under his breath, “good job, Anakin.”

The two Jedi strolled into the room, past where the door had once been and then, proceeded to dramatically shrug off their cloaks, letting them fall elegantly to the floor.

Anakin observed the site that met them. Both Ben and Rey appeared to be at least somewhat hurt, however, they also both still appeared to be well enough to fight. Then, there was Darth Sidious, who stood in the middle of the room with two blood red lightsabers in his hands, while he glared at Anakin and Obi-Wan with an angry scowl that seemed to twist his face.

It was strange to think that this was the same man that Anakin had once seen as a sort of grandfatherly figure in his life.

Obi-Wan smiled, humorlessly, next to him.

“Hello there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	44. Duel Of The Fates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin, Ben, Obi-Wan and Rey face up against Darth Sidious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Relief flooded through Rey at the sight of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s arrival.

With them there, now they would hopefully have a much larger chance at defeating Darth Sidious.

Still, a part of her wondered why Master Yoda and Ahsoka weren’t there too. After thinking about it for a moment though, she supposed that they were probably just helping out with the aftermath of Order 66 back at the Jedi Temple, since that was the most likely answer for why they weren’t present and made the most sense.

She then watched as the Sith Lord flunge himself in a flying, leaping twist at the two new Jedi, as he began to attack them in a flurry of fast paced slashes. While she knew that it’d probably do her and Ben best to join in as soon as possible, she also knew that she needed a moment to recuperate and so once she’d taken a few deep breaths and felt her heart rate calm down a bit, she leapt back into the fray with Ben following her shortly thereafter.

The fighting was quick and she had to, once again, focus all of her energy and attention on just deflecting Sidious’s quick moving blades, which attacked her and everyone else with a seemingly unparalleled precision. However, despite putting all of her focus into her defensive tactics working at first, it slowly started to backfire just a bit, as it left her unable to, at first, sense a slowly encroaching darkness that was starting to creep up over her and presumably the others, minus Palpatine, she supposed, until suddenly it seemed like it was everywhere and proceeded to quickly become overwhelming.

The screams of fallen Jedi echoed in her ears.

While Master Yoda had presumably given them a warning, it seemed like many of them could only hold off the clones for so long.

Order 66 now seemed to be in full effect.

Each death added to the ever increasing darkness until she felt like she was suffocating.

Rey quickly glanced around at the others to see if they felt the same way.

It was easy to tell that they all did.

Ben looked horrified, Anakin looked angry and Obi-Wan just looked… well, lost.

Still, all of them knew that they couldn’t dwell on it too much at the moment, because if they lost focus for a even second it could very well mean death.

Something Rey almost got a taste of, as Sidious’s blade, once again, came close to almost bisecting her.

Despite their differences, she had to say that she was impressed by Darth Sidious’s proficiency in the battle so far. After all, he was going up against four trained lightsaber users who were all powerful in the Force.

She knew that if she were in the Dark Lord of the Sith’s position, she would have been felled long ago.

The Sith’s red blades flew through the air, sending Rey into a flurry of parries in order to keep up. Already her muscles were straining. However, knowing that exhaustion would probably mean death, she reached into the Force, calling on its strength, in order to help her continue the fight. Which worked… at least for the moment.

* * *

The darkness from the deaths of thousands of Jedi only seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.

Ben couldn’t take it.

It reminded him of all those who he had killed back when he was still consumed by Kylo Ren and how those deaths had always held a certain weight on his consciousness whether or not he showed it.

Hennix, Voe, his Dad and so many others.

Lost in his tenebrous thoughts, Ben wasn’t able to parry away Sidious’s next strike in time.

_Pain. Blinding pain._

His lightsaber clattered to the ground and with it, Ben’s right hand.

 _Guess it’s a family tradition then,_ he thought darkly, his last somewhat lucid thought, as he crumpled to the floor and watched helplessly as Sidious’s lightsaber paved its way towards his neck.

“Ben!” Someone cried out. Rey maybe, he assumed and was right as a white plasma blade, similar to his own, suddenly appeared millimeters from his face, holding off a red one that had only been moments away from decapitating him.

Once Rey had managed to successfully parry the blade away from him, Ben pushed himself backwards, moving farther away from the ferocious flurry of blades, as he tried to recenter himself, before calling his lightsaber back to him.

A fresh burst of pain roared through him, as he pressed his very injured right arm closer to his chest and curled his only remaining hand around his lightsaber.

Perhaps, he deserved this fate though, he supposed. To be helpless and at another’s mercy. After all, hadn’t he been the Darth Sidious of his time for a while? It was only right that he now got to play the part of the hopeless opponent, who was quite possibly about to die, like so many of his old fallen foes.

General Armitage Hux would probably love to see him now.

No matter what happened, though, Ben knew that he’d never forgive himself if he didn’t at least try to rejoin the fray and help. So doing his best to bite back the terrible pain that he was in, Ben forced himself back to his feet.

Black spots encroached on the corners of his vision, but he could still see the telltale flashes of red, white and blue nearby.

Ben took a step in their direction, before proceeding to instantaneously fall on his face.

A cry of pain left him that was impossible to stop. Still, Ben wasn’t done. He had to help them.

He couldn’t let them fight Darth Sidious alone.

He refused to give into the darkness of unconsciousness.

A small voice of reasoning in his head pointed out that he was probably more of a liability at the moment and as such, should definitely not be fighting. However, he pushed past that thought, not paying it much heed and instead somehow miraculously made it back to his feet again, instead, flicking his lightsaber on, once more.

He took several, slow, limping steps towards where he was pretty sure the fighting was taking place. However, his vision was incredibly blurry and out of focus, so honestly he was more so just walking in the general direction that he guessed was right, fueled by his singular will to help Rey.

He needed to save her, just like he did back on Exegol and he refused to let anything stop him or get in his way, no matter how irrational his thinking was.

How exactly he thought he’d be helping in a fast paced fight like this with a limp, severed dominant hand and blurry vision though, was something entirely unknown to the galaxy… and quite honestly, even Ben Solo himself.

Still, Solos were stubborn. So, Ben decided that he’d probably just improvise something in the moment and hope that whatever he did was actually helpful. After all, that’s what his father used to do and it always seemed to work out for him.

Until he killed him…

Ben forced himself out of such dark thoughts, in order to refocus on his mission.

He had almost reached the battle, when suddenly he felt something slam into him-Force lightning, he faintly registered-that sent his body flying through the air and into the far wall in the direction from which he’d come, thus, ruining all of his hard work..

He crashed into the wall with a sinking crack and felt all of his hopes sinking, as the lightning seemed to refuse to let up, while he helplessly twitched on the floor.

Next to being electrocuted and missing a hand though, Ben was certain that he’d broken several ribs in the fall along with his left leg which was now bent at an odd angle.

He felt horror flooding through his bond with Rey. However, at the moment the pain was far too blinding for him to even really register her concern or care, at that.

Darkness closed in around Ben.

That time he let it.

* * *

Obi-Wan watched in horror as Sidious severed Ben’s hand. It reminded him of how Anakin had lost his own back on Geonosis and how powerless he had been to stop it.

To this day that memory continued to haunt him. So now, seeing the exact same thing happen to someone who was technically Anakin’s grandson, brought all of that pain and trauma rushing back to him.

With a fresh burst of energy, Obi-Wan made a quick, complicated maneuver, as he jumped up onto a slightly elevated platform, in order to get the high ground, before flipping off of it, over Sidious’s head and then, executing a slash aimed right at the Sith’s currently unprotected back. While he did manage to get a glancing blow, he was kept from his move being fatal, when the Sith Lord sent a powerful Force push in his direction, which sent Obi-Wan flying across the room and straight out of the open window.

Terror surged through him, which he felt reflected back in Anakin and Rey, who had watched it happen. However, just before he plunged into oblivion below, he just barely managed to grab onto the edge of the floor. Pain surged through him, as what seemed like a million shards of glass took up residence in his fingers and he found himself silently cursing Anakin for wanting to make such a dramatic entrance, because no matter what his former Padawan claimed his supposedly strategic reasoning to be, a dramatic entrance was probably the number one reason why Anakin had shattered the window.

Then again, Obi-Wan mused, maybe both trains of thought were wrong. Maybe, Anakin had destroyed the glass, in order to enact revenge on the sand that it had once been.

With a grunt, Obi-Wan managed to pull himself over the ledge and back up to his feet. Almost as soon as he had done so though, the Force screamed out a warning and he threw his lightsaber up just in time, in order to block a surge of Force lightning from Darth Sidious, which most certainly would’ve otherwise have thrown him out of the window, once again, albeit that time, probably actually ending his life.

As he worked to make his way back to the fight, while doing his best to ignore the painful glass shards, which had now taken up an unfortunate residence in his hands, he found himself refocusing on the surge of darkness that he’d felt earlier.

Order 66.

All of those deaths.

He really hoped that Ahsoka was alright.

Next to his worries for the Jedi though, he found himself thinking of the clones, or Cody more specifically, for that matter.

His clone Commander. 

From what Ben and Rey had told them, the clones hadn’t had much of a choice in the execution of Order 66 and were instead programmed with the command.

Unfortunately though, neither of the two time-travelers had known how exactly the programming had worked, so they hadn’t really been able to do much about it, besides just hoping that Order 66 didn’t occur this time around. However, even if they had known, it probably would’ve still been next to impossible to reverse the damage done through the programming, because the Sith Lord was The Chancellor and probably would’ve done everything in his power to keep them all from doing such a thing.

So suffice to say, whether or not they had been able to obtain the knowledge, as to how the program worked, Obi-Wan doubted that they would have actually been able to really do much of anything about it without accidently tipping off Sidious and ruining everything.

Still, it was incredibly hard to think that way with the overwhelming feeling of death all around him.

He wondered what it was like to be a clone in the midst of all of this. Of course, he had no doubt that they’d all carry out the Order if their programming had been done as well as Ben and Rey had described. However, he wondered if any felt any remorse for their actions? Did they realize that what they were doing was wrong? Did they realize that they were just being used?

He wondered what Cody thought. 

His clone Commander was on Coruscant at the moment, which meant that it was highly probable that he was one of the clones storming the Jedi Temple.

Probably, right alongside Rex, Fives, Hardcase and so many others.

He wondered if they were dead.

Just as his depressing thoughts felt like they were about to pull him apart piece by piece, Obi-Wan forced himself out of them and instead, refocused on the mission, as he finally made it back into the fight, fending off the numerous blows from the Dark Lord of the Sith. He found himself suddenly very grateful for his proficiency in Soresu, because he knew for certain that if he’d kept up with Ataru that Sidious probably would’ve already cut him up to smithereens by that point.

Another Force push suddenly sent him spiraling backwards much to his annoyance, although this time he crashed into a wall rather than flying out the window again, which Obi-Wan was beyond grateful for. However, upon making his way back to his feet, he was surprised to see that both Anakin and Rey seemed to have been thrown just as well by Darth Sidious’s incredible power.

However, when he turned his full attention back to Sidious and a pain-filled scream filled his ears, followed by the sound of another body slamming against a wall, it all made sense.

In their moment of distraction, the Sith Lord was trying to finish off an already practically grounded Ben.

An eerie laugh reverberated throughout the room, as lightning flew from Palpatine’s fingers and into the now still body of Ben Solo.

Obi-Wan sprang forward, cutting off the stream, before once again engaging in combat against the Dark Lord of the Sith with Rey and Anakin following his lead shortly thereafter.

Quickly, once Obi-Wan found himself in a blade lock with Sidious, he sent out a part of his consciousness to assess Ben’s state. While he deduced that Ben was quite beaten-up with injuries that could prove to be fatal, Obi-Wan also recognized that he would probably be alright, if they managed to win this fight and get him medical attention within the next couple of hours, if Ben managed to get out of this without any further injuries. So, turning his attention back to the fight, Obi-Wan made sure to continue to do everything in his power to try and keep things headed in both Ben’s and the galaxy’s favor.

He couldn’t let Darth Sidious win this fight.

After everything that Ben and Rey had told him, he simply couldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	45. Whispers of Light in Untold Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Jedi face the tragic consequences of Order 66.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Upon reaching the entrance of the Temple, it didn’t take Ahsoka very long to find Barriss.

There she stood, in the eye of the storm, as a mass of Jedi flooded into the expansive room. Her black cloak fluttered lightly behind her, as though it were taken by a slight breeze.

“Barriss!” She cried out, racing towards her and her beautiful Mirilian girlfriend instantly spun around, relief swimming in her eyes.

In the face of such a terrible battle to come, Ahsoka found herself suddenly no longer caring about what the Jedi said about attachment or what they thought for that matter, as she wrapped Barriss in her arms, in a powerful, encasing hug, which the other girl was quick to reciprocate. Both of them knew of the dark implications of what was about to happen. Ahsoka from Ben and Rey, and Barriss from Master Yoda’s message. 

Both of them also knew that it was very likely that many Jedi would not make it out of this one alive.

Barriss was the first one to pull away, as her brilliant blue gaze searched Ahsoka’s own.

“I can’t believe the clones have turned on us,” she breathed and Ahsoka nodded, as a flicker of fear stirred in her stomach.

“I know.”

Of course, while she’d known about Order 66 for a while now, hearing about it versus getting ready to experience it were two completely different things, she decided.

The images of several clones flitted through her mind’s eye: Rex, Cody, Hardcase, Fives, Echo and so many others.

Would she fall to one of them?

Would she be forced to kill one of them?

Ahsoka was yanked from her thoughts, when suddenly, a dark feeling of foreboding seemed to suffocate her. Then, a loud bang was heard and the Temple doors were thrust open to reveal what looked like thousands of clones beginning to flood in, as they fired at the Jedi with unparalleled accuracy and precision.

To think that they’d once trusted each other with their lives.

Already, she could both feel and see the bodies of her fellow Jedi falling around her and it made her just want to curl up in a ball and cry, because they were quite honestly the only family that she’d ever really had and now she was losing all of them, all at once.

Ahsoka hoped that Anakin was having better luck, because she honestly didn’t know what she’d do if he died too.

Back-to-back, Ahsoka worked in sync with Barriss, as they did their best to deflect blaster shots from all sides.

However, it all quickly became all too much and Ahsoka realized that if they stayed where they were any longer that they were going to die. There were simply just too many clones and not enough Jedi.

“Barriss, we need to go!” Ahsoka yelled over the sound of rapid-fire blaster bolts and cries of pain. “We need to go, now!”

Her beautiful Mirilian girlfriend nodded, as a look of dark foreboding seemed to take over her features. Then, spinning around, the two Jedi dashed away from the entrance and towards one of the numerous hallways that laid before them. After all, the clones were hardly ever in the Temple, if at all. In the winding, confusing hallways, at least they’d probably have a bit of an advantage. However, since there were also a seemingly endless amount of clones swarming the Temple that could end up being false instead, in the long-term. 

Lost in her blind haze of thoughts, Ahsoka wasn’t really watching her steps until suddenly, she felt herself trip over something soft and oddly, wet.

She fell with a thud to the ground and her lightsaber slipped from her fingertips.

Desperate to escape the array of blaster shots being fired throughout the Temple, Ahsoka quickly sat back up and reclaimed her lightsaber. However, just before she completely regained her bearings and got back up to her feet, she suddenly realized what-or rather  _ who- _ she had tripped over.

Master Plo Koon.

He was a bloody mess now, on the cold, hard floor, with blaster burns littering his body, as though it were some kind of bloody canvas. Even more disturbing though, was that his rebreather was beyond destroyed, so not only had he probably been in intense pain in his last few moments, but he’d also been taking in air that was poisonous to him too.

_ She was off on a mission with Master Plo Koon and wanted, more than anything, to prove to him that he was right in his initial decision to bring her to the Jedi Temple. _

_ “But Master, you were right, I heard about a murder, a murder Aurra Sing recently committed.” _

_ “Where?” He asked and a gentle hand fell upon her shoulder. _

_ Her answer was steadfast and quick. _

_ “Florrum.” _

_ “Well done, little ‘Soka.”  _

_ The compliment sent a burst of pure light exploding throughout her entire being, just like fireworks.  _

Master Plo was dead.

He was gone… forever.

A hand flew to Ahsoka’s mouth, as she stared wide-eyed and gaping at the dead body of the man, who had been the one to initially bring her to the Temple. The man, who had trusted the clones maybe even more than both Anakin and Obi-Wan did.

Without him, she probably would’ve never met Anakin, Obi-Wan, Barriss, Ben, Rey, Rex or anyone else, who she’d grown to see as her family, for that matter.

“Ahsoka, come on! You need to get up!” Barriss cried out from somewhere above her, while she deflected blaster bolts left and right.

Ahsoka nodded, numbly. Then, with one last sorrowful look at the fallen Jedi Master, she leapt to her feet, lightsaber in hand and sprinted after Barriss down one of the numerous hallways, while continuing to deflect the deadly blaster bolts.

While initially the hallways had seemed like a pretty good idea, at least compared to the entrance of the Temple, now Ahsoka found herself second guessing herself, as clones began to flood in after them like a bloodthirsty tsunami.

A sudden cry of pain sounded next to her and she glanced over at Barriss with a deep worry highlighting her gaze.

“Just a graze!” Her girlfriend assured her, while continuing to deflect bolts, as they ran. Ahsoka just nodded, despite not being entirely certain that that was all it was. Perhaps, she just wanted to believe that everything would turn out alright in the end and so, kind lies were now ones that she found herself more than willing to accept as truth.

The darkness closed in further.

Everyone was dying.

It wasn’t long before Ahsoka found herself backed up into a corner with Barriss, while twenty clones kept them occupied. Oddly though, Ahsoka noticed, one of them looked very familiar. However, what with everything going on, it was very hard for Ahsoka to put a finger on where she knew the clone from at first, until suddenly it all clicked.

The clone was Rex.

She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to have to make this decision. The only way out of this would be killing the clones that blocked her and Barriss from escaping and in doing so that would mean that they would have to kill Rex.

_ Maybe I can get past his coding, _ Ahsoka foolishly thought, holding on to her last bits of hope that just maybe everything would turn out alright in the end.

“Rex!” She cried out, her eyes watering with unshed tears, from deep conflictions that raged through her like a wildfire. “Rex, please! Don’t do this. Don’t do this…”

There was no break-through, respite or even the briefest moment of hesitation like she hoped.

Instead, “good soldiers follow orders,” was all she heard Rex say, before his next bolt slammed right into her left leg.

A horrific flash of pain slammed into her body and she crumpled to the ground.

“Ashoka!” She heard Barriss cry out in horror, as she worked desperately to defend the both of them with a newfound vigor.

As she laid there on the floor, while pain tore through her leg, Ahsoka suddenly found a part of her desperately wishing that she could just stay there forever. She was just so tired after all of this death. 

Her eyes started to slip close, as dark spots began to flicker at the edges of her vision. However, just before she slipped away into oblivion, she found herself thinking of Barriss.

What would happen to Barriss if she slipped away now?

Ahsoka knew the dreaded answer, almost the instant that the thought entered her mind.

Barriss would die too.

That was something that Ahsoka could not allow. At least not while they still had a chance. So, reclaiming her lightsaber from the floor, Ahsoka somehow made her way back up to her feet, ignoring the deep, blinding pain that raged through her leg at the unwelcome weight.

She strangely found herself feeling nothing, as she watched the clones begin to fall one by one and hoped that she’d continue to feel that way-numb to it all-until it was all over. However, life was cruel and so as soon as she angled her lightsaber at just the right angle, in order to deflect a shot from Captain Rex and send it flying right back into him, striking him fatally in the chest, all of those painful emotions came rushing back.

_ Ahsoka carefully eyed Captain Rex, while curiosity brimmed in her young, wide-eyed gaze.  _

_ “So, if you’re a Captain and I’m a Jedi, then, technically, I outrank you, right?” _

_ “In my book, experience outranks everything,” Rex replied, his gaze serious. Although, Ahsoka was almost certain that she could feel a flicker of amusement underneath the man’s many layers. _

_ A thoughtfulness flickered through her gaze, “well, if experience outranks everything, I guess I’d better start getting some,” the young girl decided, steadfast. _

Staring at the fallen body of the man, who she’d once considered a friend, a dark, unfiltered thought entered her mind, while a large hand seemed to slowly be closing in around her heart.

_ I guess I finally outrank him then. _

As the pathway was now cleared, Barriss and Ahsoka, once again, took off down the numerous hallways, doing their best not to run into any of the clones, when suddenly her beautiful, blue-eyed girlfriend fell, her hand gripping her chest and her eyes squeezed shut, as though she were in mortal pain.

“Barriss?” Ahsoka cried out, fearfully, her eyes searching the hallway for clones that weren’t there, before sliding to the ground next to her, “Barriss, what’s wrong?”

For a long moment, the girl was silent, before she finally spoke in a very troubled and trembling voice.

“My Master… M-Master Unduli… she… sh-she’s dead, Ahsoka. Our bond… it’s… i-it’s just  _ gone.” _

Never before, had Ahsoka seen such a look of pain and grief in her girlfriend’s normally calm blue gaze, while tears slipped down her soft, yellow cheeks.

“Barriss, I’m so sorry,” she breathed, gathering her girlfriend into her arms and just letting her cry. However, after only a few seconds of reprieve, Ahsoka heard the familiar marching of boots heading her way and was thus forced to pull away from her grieving friend.

“We have to go,” Ahsoka whispered, apologetically, not wanting the clones to hear them and give away their location prematurely.

Grieving would have to wait for later… if there even was a later.

She watched as her beautiful, intelligent girlfriend nodded, before they both rose to their feet with Ahsoka wrapping an arm around Barriss’s shoulders, both to keep her close and help support her weight, after having been brutally shot in the leg like she had been only moments before.

Together, the two kept up a quick pace, deflecting blaster bolts and killing the clones that they had once trusted with their very lives, until finally, they found themselves stuck at a dead end with the sound of what sounded like a million clones, fast approaching.

Knowing that if they didn’t hide soon that they would be dead within seconds, Ahsoka looked around desperately for a means of escape, when she suddenly noticed a door just to their left and pulled both herself and Barriss into the room, before slamming the door soundly shut behind them.

Ahsoka turned around to try and figure out where exactly they’d ended up, only to be met with a pack of terrified Younglings.

A small ginger-haired boy quickly raced up towards them, while fear shone brightly in his young, green eyes.

“Th-there are too many of them,” he stuttered out, “what are we going to do?”

A pang of despair ran through Ahsoka, as she suddenly realized that unless they did something very soon, the Younglings would most likely be slaughtered without mercy in the coming minutes. Especially since, like most of the other rooms in the Jedi Temple, this one had no lock.

They needed to figure out something fast.

“We need to help them get out of here,” she heard Barriss voice her same exact thoughts, next to her.

Ahsoka nodded, before beginning to really take in the room that she and Barriss had stumbled into, looking for any means of escape that it could very well end up providing. 

She let out a small smile of relief, when she noticed an entrance to the ventilation system.

While she knew that both herself and Barriss would be too big to fit into it, all of the Younglings in the room certainly could, what with their smaller statures.

“Come on,” Ahsoka said, pulling away from Barriss and ignoring the biting pain that suddenly shot up her leg, as she beckoned at the Younglings to follow her, “get in.”

Taking off the panel that acted as a barrier to the system, Ahsoka helped the Younglings inside with Barriss quickly following her lead.

“Use the Force,” she guided them, up until the last one had been ushered inside, “let it guide you beyond the Temple and once you are out,  _ run. _ If the Jedi survive this, they will find you, but if not, keep hidden. This is a very dangerous time for us all, so may the Force be with you. All of you.”

Once the last Youngling had made it through, Ahsoka closed up the ventilation shaft, before turning to her Mirilian girlfriend with a sad smile.

“We’re not making it out of here alive, are we?” Barriss guessed with a dash of dark humor painting her words.

Ahsoka glanced down at her feet, as she began to really consider their chances.

“I… I don’t know,” she finally sighed, before continuing, “but… I don’t… I don’t think so.”

A moment of solemn silence hung in the air between them, before Barriss finally spoke.

“At least the Younglings are safe and we’ll have each other… in the end.”

Ahsoka nodded, as a desolate heaviness seemed to fall upon her shoulders, on top of the already suffocating darkness, of which surrounded them all.

“Yeah.”

After about a minute of peace, the familiar noise of a million boots sounded just outside the door until suddenly, much to both Barriss’s and Ahsoka’s indignation, it was opening. Desperately, Ahsoka flung a hand out, just barely keeping it from opening to point that they could shoot.

Reaching out, Ahsoka did her best to assess just how many Troopers were beyond the door and was instantly disheartened by what she found.

Any last hopes that she might have had about her and Barriss making it out of this one alive were instantly squashed, like an ant underneath a boot.

Ahsoka met Barriss’s beautiful blue eyes and told her what they needed to do.

This was a fight that their lightsabers would never save them from anyways. Not if worthy Jedi Masters like Plo Koon and Luminara Unduli had already fallen. Plus, Ahsoka refused to go down alone and knew that Barriss stood by her in that sentiment. Along with that though, she was sure that many of the clones would not want to live like this, anyways, and both girls knew that they needed to stop as many clones, as they could, in order to help protect the other remaining Jedi.

Their plan was quite honestly the only way to ensure that they accomplished all of that.

So, Ahsoka watched with a sorrow filled gaze, as Barriss pulled out all of the grenades that she’d had hidden away in her belt, before Ahsoka passed over her own too. Then, her wonderful, beautiful girlfriend proceeded to place them all by the door.

The blast that this many grenades would pack would hopefully be enough for a quick and painless death.

In those last few moments before Ahsoka let go of her hold on the door, the clones flooded in and everything exploded into a blinding flash of white light, Ahsoka shared a bittersweet smile with Barriss. 

She wished that they’d had more time, that she and Barriss could’ve gone public about their relationship, that her last conversation with Anakin wasn’t a stupid argument, that she could have told him that she and Barriss were dating, that she could’ve gone to Dex’s Dinner just one more time with Anakin and Obi-Wan… she wished that-

Barriss smiled, as she looked over her with her gentle, blue-eyed gaze and Ahsoka could feel a swirl of emotions flooding through their newly forged bond.

“I love you, Ahsoka Tano,” Barriss whispered, tears in her eyes.

Ahsoka laughed, bittersweetly, as tears slid down her own cheeks, “I love you too, Barriss Offee.”

Then, with her last use of the Force, Barriss set a timer on the grenades for ten seconds and Ahsoka let go of her hold on the door.

They kissed.

In that moment, it was just them, Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee. There were no Jedi  _ 10 _ , no Sith  _ 9 _ , no problems  _ 8 _ , no Separatists  _ 7 _ , no Republic  _ 6 _ , no war  _ 5 _ , no time-travelers  _ 4 _ , no yesterday  _ 3 _ , no today  _ 2 _ and no tomorrow  _ 1 _ .

Only them  _ 0 _ .

The clones marched into the room, only to be met with a blinding flash of white light and death.

The Force wept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	46. Fleeting Days and Tenebrous Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin, Obi-Wan and Rey face up against Darth Sidious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Pain… unbridled pain rippled throughout Anakin’s body.

The pain, however, was not his own, but then again, maybe it was from a certain point of view.

He crumpled to the floor with a gasp.

“Ahsoka,” Anakin breathed, eyes stretched wide with horror, because something was wrong… so terribly wrong. 

His bond with Ahsoka, after a final burst of incredible pain, was just _gone._

_Anakin sat next to Ahsoka on a ledge overlooking the city._

_“You’re reckless little one,” he observed, nonchalantly, “you never would’ve made it as Obi-Wan’s Padawan,” he paused for effect, before turning his head to look at her, “but you might make it as mine.”_

_She smiled, as relief seemed to overcome her very being._

_Anakin smiled back._

He’d failed her.

“No,” he gasped, “no, no, no, no, no, no, _NO!”_

With a cry of rage, Anakin leapt back up to his feet, lightsaber in hand.

“Anakin? Anakin, what happened?” He thought, he heard Obi-Wan call out. However, he paid his brother no mind, as he instead leapt at Darth Sidious in a rage.

“You killed her!” He screamed, as his Djem So attacks began to grow more and more powerful in the heat of his anger. “You killed Ahsoka! She’s dead,” _swing_ , “she’s dead,” _swing_ “she’s dead!” _Swing_ . His eyes narrowed, “and I _will_ avenge her death.”

Something dark swirled within Anakin’s chest, as he continued to lash out at the Sith Lord. All the while, worry and shock flooded through his bond with Obi-Wan.

However, instead of seeming intimidated by Anakin’s sudden rage-filled use of the Force, Darth Sidious only cackled maniacally. “Good. Good. I can feel your anger, young Skywalker. Strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete. Do it! Do it!”

At the Sith Lord’s words, Anakin suddenly froze in his anger-filled actions.

 _This isn’t what Ahsoka would want,_ he suddenly realized with a deafening certainty.

So, taking a deep breath, Anakin did his best to recenter himself in the light side of the Force, as he continued to strike out against the Dark Lord of the Sith. If he wanted to avenge Ahsoka’s death properly, he couldn’t fall to the dark side, for the dark side was what killed her. Instead, he had to let go of his fear and anger. 

He couldn’t think about how Ahsoka’s body was now just an empty shell, lying somewhere in the Jedi Temple. He couldn’t think about how the last conversation that they had had was some stupid argument. He couldn’t think about how he would never see her endearing smile, which had never failed to light up a room, again.

Tears slid down Anakin’s cheeks, but he finally managed to completely pull himself away from the darkness and recenter himself in the light.

Noticing his transition away from the dark side of the Force, Darth Sidious frowned.

“Unfortunate,” he mused, “however, not entirely unexpected.”

Together, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Rey continued their battle against the Dark Lord of the Sith. They did it for Ahsoka, for Ben, for every other Jedi whether they were dead or alive and for the future. This was a battle that needed to be won or else the entire galaxy would be doomed.

Anakin slashed, parried and slashed again. Still nothing seemed to actually land a hit on the Sith Lord. He was simply just too powerful.

Anakin forced more power into his Djem So technique and moved in to slash his blade at the Sith Lord again, when suddenly he realized that he’d made a grave mistake a split second too late. For in raising his arms like he was for the overhead slash, he’d left his abdomen open and undefended.

_Pain._

That time it was his own, as Sidious’s blade tore through his flesh.

“Anakin!” He heard someone cry out, pain laced in their tone, as he crumpled to the floor.

At least, if he were to die, he would be with Ahsoka. Whether it be in a real or metaphorical sense.

He just hoped that Padmé would be okay without him.

* * *

Obi-Wan watched with horror as Anakin crumpled to the ground, and just barely managed to parry Sidious’s next move in his state of shock. However, when he noticed that his brother seemed to have no actual physical injury, he grew confused, because what could’ve possibly grounded Anakin so?

However then, when he heard a certain name fall from Anakin’s lips, a cold chill settled into Obi-Wan’s bones, while a deep weight seemed to crush his heart.

The next thing he knew, Anakin was back on his feet with a cry of rage.

“Anakin? Anakin, what happened?” He called out, frantically. While, of course, Obi-Wan was pretty sure that he already knew, he found it very hard to accept, because Ahsoka couldn’t be dead… right?

“You killed her!” He heard Anakin scream, successfully dashing any last hopes that he might’ve had about Ahsoka’s condition. “You killed Ahsoka! She’s dead,” _swing_ , “she’s dead,” _swing_ “she’s dead!” _Swing_ . His former Padawan’s eyes narrowed, “and I _will_ avenge her death.”

Obi-Wan couldn’t believe that Ahsoka was just… _gone._

He wondered who else had died so far? 

Mace Windu? Adi Gallia? Plo Koon? Yoda? Luminara Unduli? Saesee Tiin?

It was kind of hard to tell in the midst of all the suffocating darkness, but one thing that he found himself beginning to now fully realize was that no one was safe.

It was then that another darkness began to swirl in the air, separate from the one that was already there, and Obi-Wan furrowed his brows, as he continued to parry Sidious’s rapid-fire attacks.

Where was the darkness coming from?

The answer that he found was bewildering to say the least.

_Anakin._

As Obi-Wan reached out into the Force, he could feel the power of the dark side beginning to wrap around his former Padawan in his anger. To make it even worse though, upon managing to shoot a glance at his former Padawan, he noticed that Anakin’s normally blue eyes now seemed to have the slightest hint of a yellow hue to them.

Fear snaked straight through Obi-Wan’s heart.

He couldn’t lose Anakin too. Especially not to the dark side, because Anakin couldn’t become like Darth Vader, Obi-Wan most simply would not allow it.

“Anakin!” He cried out, “you need to calm down!” Anakin, however, didn’t seem to hear him, as he kept up in his increasingly vicious attacks and the dark side continued to solidify around him. All the while, cries of pure, unadulterated rage flew from his lips.

“Good. Good,” he heard Darth Sidious laugh in response to Anakin’s descent into the dark side of the Force, “I can feel your anger, young Skywalker. Strike me down with all of your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete. Do it! Do it!”

To Obi-Wan’s relief though, instead of egging Anakin on, Sidious’s words, instead, only seemed to calm him down, surprisingly, as he seemed to finally realize the extent of what he was doing. Still, no matter how that knowledge had ultimately managed to reach Anakin, he was just happy that his brother had turned away from the dark side of the Force, so he didn’t question it.

“Unfortunate,” he heard Darth Sidious muse, “however, not entirely unexpected.”

With newfound vigor to avenge Ahsoka’s death-a girl who Obi-Wan, despite what the Code said, found himself quite attached to-he increased the strength of his parries, while searching for an opening in his way of Soresu.

However, as soon as he felt a burst of pain ripple through his bond with Anakin, he gave pause, luckily caught in a blade lock at the time, so he didn’t get gutted in his moment of hesitation.

Obi-Wan’s eyes searched for his brother, just in time to see him fall to the floor with a hand pressed up against his now bloody abdomen.

“Anakin!” He cried out, horrified by what he was witnessing.

He’d already lost Ahsoka… he couldn’t lose Anakin too.

Against his better judgement, he abandoned his battle with Sidious, leaving Rey to deal with him for the moment. Then, at an unparalleled speed he bolted towards his brother, skidding to the ground at his side, as he gently placed his head upon his lap and assessed his condition.

Just like Ben, while Anakin was gravely injured, if he received medical assistance within a few hours, he would probably end up pulling through. Relief flooded through Obi-Wan in incredible swaths at that realization. However, any feelings of good fortune were quickly cut short, when the Jedi Master made to stand up again to rejoin the fight, only to be met with the now unfortunately familiar feeling of Force lightning coursing through his veins.

He slammed into a wall in the far corner of the room and felt something unbearably heavy crash down on top of him. As Obi-Wan slipped into unconsciousness, he could only find himself thinking about how disappointed Master Qui-Gon Jinn would be to see him now.

* * *

So basically, everything had gone to shavit very fast.

Ben, Anakin and Obi-Wan were all down, in that exact order, which now only left her and Darth Sidious.

The Granddaughter versus the Grandfather.

She almost laughed at the hilarity of it, but then sobered upon thinking of all the terrible things that had happened that day. Ahsoka’s death, along with the deaths of many of the other Jedi and now Anakin, Ben and Obi-Wan’s lives all hung in the balance.

She didn’t want such responsibility.

Quite honestly, she never did.

What Rey wanted was to live out a peaceful life on some beautiful planet, where the grass was always green and the sky was always a bright crystal blue. She wanted to live in a warm, comfy house with Ben and their kids, where they’d enjoy days spent with laughter and nights full of peace. She didn’t want to have to be burdened with overthrowing corrupt governments and fighting Sith Lords… or dark side users, in some cases, she supposed.

Those were her last thoughts, as Sidious managed to send her lightsaber flying out of her hands, past where the window had once been and into the Coruscanti city streets below.

Rey blanched.

She couldn’t lose now. Not after everything that they’d worked so hard to get.

Still, life was hardly ever fair.

Part of her desperately wanted to close her eyes, as she awaited the final blow. However, an even larger part of herself didn’t want to give into Sidious’s games, so instead, she locked her bright brown gaze onto Sidious’s smoldering yellow one.

Oddly enough though, the blow never came. Instead, Sidious actually disengaged both of his lightsabers and even went so far as to putting one away, completely.

“There’s something wrong with you, my dear Rey,” the snake-like Sith Lord hissed, “both you and Solo, for that fact, and now that I find you here weaponless and with no one around to help you any longer, I suppose that I will take this chance to find out what exactly it is that I sense.”

Darth Sidious’s hand reached out and Rey’s eyes rolled to the back of her head.

He was inside of her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	47. Ultimatum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “To have been blind is to see everything and to see the balance is the only way to restore what was lost.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

_“You need a teacher. I could show you the ways of the force.”_

_“I'm not Resistance. I'm not a hero.”_

_“Let the past die. Kill it, if you have to. That’s the only way to become what you are meant to be."_

_“You’re so lonely... So afraid to leave..."_

_“NOOOO!”_

A surge of power flooded through Rey.

“Get out of my head!”

_“Nothing is impossible.”_

_“She will be honored to know your family name too.”_

_“You don’t just have power. You have his power. You’re his granddaughter. You are a Palpatine.”_

“Leave!”

_“Let your death be the final word in the story of rebellion.”_

_“I am all the Sith!”_

_“Ben.”_

_“We’re in the Clone Wars, Rey.”_

_“To have been blind is to see everything and to see the balance is the only way to restore what was lost.”_

_“Can it bring back the dead?”_

_“I know what you did.”_

_“I will do such terrible things.”_

_“Execute Order 66.”_

_“No!”_

A blinding burst of white light suddenly flooded her vision and she found herself upon a seemingly blank white canvas with Darth Sidious himself standing before her.

“You are from the future,” he asserted, as a faint flicker of surprise flared across his face.

There was no longer any point in denying it.

“Yes.”

The Dark Lord of the Sith furrowed his brows, as if he were deep in thought.

“And you are my granddaughter?”

Rey refused to answer, so Sidious just nodded, taking her silence as an affirmation to his somewhat rhetorical question.

“Fascinating… and all the more reason that I should take all of your power, my dear Rey… or should I say, my dear granddaughter? After all, we are family and family helps each other. ”

Her eyes narrowed and then darkened. For her entire life, much like Ben’s, she’d constantly found herself at others mercy, just doing her best to stay alive. Back as a scavenger on Jakku, when she’d had to beg Luke to teach her the ways of the Force, when Anakin had assaulted her…

“I’m afraid that I can’t let you do that,” she hissed between clenched teeth and something odd began to unfurl in her chest.

She let it.

An eerie cackle fell from Darth Sidious’s lips.

“No, I don’t think so.”

Darth Sidious turned his palm face-up in the abyss of her mind’s eye and ancient words began to fall from his lips. Pain slammed into Rey at full force and a scream fell from her lips, as she crumpled to the ground. She felt like she was slowly being torn apart. Piece by piece. It was agonizing, it torture and it just wouldn’t stop. While, part of her wanted to scream and beg for mercy, she knew that she could never allow herself to give Darth Sidious that much power over her.

He already had enough.

Rey could feel herself fading, as she slowly began to lose her grip on life. 

The glowing white color of the canvas all around her seemed to grow fainter and fainter the more that he took from her.

_A flash of her father’s warm smile._

_Her mother’s loving gaze._

In the midst of all of her pain, anger surged throughout Rey’s entire being and her fists clenched at the injustice of it all.

This was not how she wanted to go out.

This was not how she wanted her story to end.

The strange feeling within her chest seemed to only grow stronger and stronger, and Rey let it, because as the odd feelings grew, the pain, oddly enough, seemed to lessen.

Darth Sidious’s laughter continued to increase in volume.

She hated him.

As soon as he was done with her, she knew that he’d be quick to finish off Anakin, Ben, Obi-Wan and all of the other Jedi. Then, the Sith would rule the galaxy, once more. However, this time there would be no Luke Skywalker to stop them.

Darth Sidious would plunge the galaxy into an eternal darkness.

_A red blade plunged into Han Solo’s chest and he disappeared down the reactor shaft._

_Snoke’s gaze lit up with shock._

_For a long moment, everything was silent and then suddenly, they were kissing._

Rey forced herself to focus her pain-filled eyes on Sidious, while she worked to bite back the all-encompassing pain. 

The foreign feeling continued to stir within her.

It threatened to consume her in the midst of her turmoil, but Rey didn’t allow it. Instead, she mastered the feeling and provided it with the wood that it needed to become a towering fire, while keeping a bucket of water just within reach.

_Rey closed her eyes and focused on transferring some of her life force into Ventress._

The fire within her grew.

_A lock of hair seemed to have fallen out of place during his slumber, leaving it to now droop over his face in an incredibly cute manner. So, gently, Rey brushed it out of his face and back into its rightful place with the rest of his hair._

_Ben took their mugs and washed them, while Rey threw out their bars’ wrappers._

_Rey watched helplessly, as Palpatine sent a wave of Force lightning in Ben’s direction and he slammed into the far wall, before slumping to the ground and sliding into unconsciousness._

“No!” She screamed and a sudden wave of unadultured power surged through her, headed straight at the Dark Lord of the Sith. There was no light nor dark… just pure, raw power.

The expansive white canvas disappeared and Rey found both herself and Darth Sidious shoved, forcefully, back into the real world. However, Rey was not done, yet. After everything that the Dark Lord of the Sith had done and everything that he had taken, she had to make sure that a definitive stop was put to everything.

Even if she was destroyed in the process.

Rey had read about this technique, hidden deep within the ancient Jedi texts. However, it wasn’t something that it taught… _no,_ rather something that it taught against.

Still, this was something that she needed to do.

No matter the cost nor the questionable morality of it.

Darth Sidious had awoken something deep within her. Something dark and unnatural. Something that she’d only dabbled with. Now, however, she threw away her previous preconceived notions and only worked to focus her thoughts on saving Ben, her friends and the galaxy itself.

She let the feeling grow within her and intertwined it with her natural light.

Together, she embraced them.

Both the light side and the dark side of the Force.

Rey reached out a hand and suddenly, she found herself inside of the Darth Sidious’s mind.

The canvas upon which she stood was unlike her own. This one was tattered, torn and frayed at the edges, with what looked like blood staining everything.

Darth Sidious stood in front of her and for the first time in her entire life, she could feel what felt like real panic emanating off of him. Almost as if he sensed what she was about to do.

“You are no match for me,” he sneered in a desperate last attempt to save himself, “leave now and just maybe I will consider providing both you and your friends with mercy.”

Rey didn’t fall for it. She wasn’t even tempted. Instead, she just closed her eyes and reached deeper into the mind of the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Suddenly, memories laid before her very eyes, almost all of them covered in blood, hatred and anger.

One by one, she took them, grinding them to dust beneath her fingertips until they no longer existed within the expanse of Sheev Palpatine’s mind.

“What are you doing?” She heard a terrified voice call out from behind her, “stop! Stop it!”

A surge of tenebrous power flew forth from the Sith Lord’s fingertips, directed at his granddaughter. However, his power only came from one side of the Force, whereas Rey’s now came from the entirety of it. So, she deflected Darth Sidious’s attack right back at him and he fell to the ground, within that of his mind’s eye, while a scream of raw pain left his lips.

Memories stained with the cruelty of the dark side continued to fall under her ultimatum.

_“There’s just something wrong with Sheev, Cosinga.”_

_Sheev scowled at the bird, who just wouldn’t stop singing its stupidly annoying song. So, with a twist of his hand and a surge of the power that made his family hate him, it fell silent, forever._

_One by one, he sent his entire family and their guards to gruesome deaths aboard that fated starship._

_Darth Sidious listened attentively, while Darth Plagueis helped guide his use of the dark side of the Force._

_He smiled, pleased. Finally, the Apprentice had slain the Master._

_As he watched Rey restore Ventress’s life, all he could think about was how she was going to be his next apprentice._

_A cruel, dark laugh twisted the Sith Lord’s features, “you are a spy.”_

_“The time has come. Execute Order 66.”_

_Darth Sidious strangled his granddaughter’s mind with glee. Soon, all of her power would be his._

_He was trapped in his own mind and she was taking everything._

One by one, all of Darth Sidious’s memories faded away into oblivion, until only a void shell of a human being was left.

The Dark Lord of the Sith was gone and in his place now stood a man who knew nothing.

Rey retreated from his mind, just as his eyes slowly started to blink open.

“Wh-where am I?” The man asked with a frantic, confused edge to his voice. Then, he glanced down at his hands, “w-who… who am I?”

This man was not Darth Sidious.

Feelings of both guilt and acceptance swam through her. A part of her didn’t want to kill this man. After all, he wasn’t Darth Sidious, not really. Instead, this man was someone else entirely. Someone with no past, an uncertain present and an increasingly dimmer future. Still, Rey knew what she needed to do, since after all, if she didn’t, then she risked Sidious getting his memories back and wreaking havoc on the galaxy, once more.

She called Darth Sidious’s lightsabers to her hands.

The man looked down at them, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Wh-what are those things?

Rey didn’t answer him and instead, just pointed them forward, straight at Sheev Palpatine’s chest… except this man wasn’t even Sheev Palpatine. Not really. Another flicker of guilt surged through her chest, but once again, she reminded herself that she couldn’t let her sympathies blind her. For, in this body, the true holder had murdered countless innocents in a psychopathic and calculated rampage.

This needed to end now.

In this state, the man could do nothing to stop her anyways. After all, all of his memories were gone, crushed at the behest of her incredible power. So, because of that, she didn’t even need to worry about him coming back from the dead or even possessing her, simply because she’d removed his knowledge of how to do so.

Quite honestly, his ability to speak and control the basic functions of his body were probably the only things that she hadn’t removed.

Rey prepared herself for the final kill, as she tightened her grip on her grandfather’s lightsabers. Still, the look of bright, unbridled fear in the man’s eyes, once again held her back.

However, this time only for a moment.

“Everything will be okay,” she told the man, who now stood in Darth Sidious’s place.

Perhaps, in another life that man would’ve been the grandfather who she wished she’d had. Where instead of trying to teach her the ways of the dark side of the Force, trying to take her power away, trying to kill her and trying to kill her friends, he would teach her how to play Sabacc, take her out to get ice cream, love her and love her parents.

It was too late for any of that in this life though. For the damage had already been done and that life was only a wishful figment of her imagination.

So, Rey flicked Darth Sidious’s lightsabers on and they instantly tore straight through the man’s heart in an X-like configuration.

The man’s eyes lit up in unbridled shock and terror, before he fell to the ground dead.

Rey switched off the lightsabers and they fell to the floor, joining him.

Then, the next thing she knew, Rey found herself toppling over too, as she landed, unceremoniously, on the floor, right next to the late Dark Lord of the Sith.

All the air rushed from her lungs.

In doing what she’d done, she had exerted a great deal of power that now left her feeling beyond drained. Still, Rey knew that she wasn’t quite done just yet. She still needed to try to stop Order 66, broadcast the Sith Lord’s confession over the HoloNet and finally, send out a message to Yoda, who she prayed to the Force was still alive, so that she could inform him of their success and their now most desperate need of assistance.

Rey forced herself to stand.

It hurt.

Her chest was tight and she struggled for breath. Then, on top of that, the world seemed to spin all around her in a dizzying array of color. All she wanted to do was fall over and sleep, but she knew that she couldn’t… not yet, at least. She’d come this far after all, so she had to see all of this through.

By the time that she finally made it to the desk where she’d last seen Sidious place the holoprojector that he’d used, in order to execute Order 66, Rey was exhausted. Still, she forced herself to reach out a hand and grab the device, right before she ultimately crumpled to the floor, as her legs gave out beneath her.

Frantically, Rey thumbed through the holoprojector records, as she desperately searched for the last frequency that it had used.

_There._

Rey flicked it on.

“Kill Order 66,” she croaked out, as tears slipped from her eyes and down her cheeks. After so much death and destruction, she just couldn’t take it anymore. However, she knew that she needed to be certain that the clones would listen to her, since she wasn’t entirely sure of how their programming worked and so, she forced herself into a calm, determined façade before speaking again.

“Kill Order 66,” she repeated, but this time, she made sure to lace her words with power. Thus, the trembling tone was gone and replaced with one of confidence.

She sent off the transmission.

The darkness was beckoning and Rey’s eyes begged to be allowed to slip close into the peaceful lands of unconsciousness. Still, she continued to force herself to stay awake.

She had to finish what her grandfather had started.

She needed to effectively bring an end to his reign.

So, grabbing one of her recorders from her pocket, she set it to the time slot, where Chancellor Sheev Palpatine had admitted to being the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Darth Sidious.

She uploaded the section of the recording to the HoloNet.

The desire to slip into unconsciousness was unbearable, but still Rey forced herself not too. At least not yet. Instead, she grabbed her comlink out of her pocket and sent out a message to Master Yoda.

“Master Yoda…” she coughed, “we… w-we’ve managed to defeat,” Rey paused to cough again, as both her chest and throat tightened from the strain of all that she had endured, “Darth Sidious. I… I’ve ended Order 66 and u-uploaded… uploaded his confession to the H-HoloNet.”

Coughs continued to wrack her body and the darkness began to seem more and more enticing.

“But… w-we need help. All… all of us… i-injuried… please...”

Rey hit sent, before flicking off the comlink.

Finally she could rest.

However, just as she was about to close her eyes, she suddenly remembered Ben’s already broken body crashing into the far wall at the edge of the room in the wake of Sidious’s lightning.

Her eyes flickered blurrily over to where she had last seen him.

Only the faint rise and fall of his chest proved that he was even still alive.

She didn’t want to be alone and she didn’t want him to be alone, either.

So, using the last bits of her strength, Rey dragged herself over to where Ben lay, because if they were to die, before Master Yoda was able to arrive with help, she wanted them to at least be able to do so together.

After several long minutes, she finally reached his side.

His normally expressive bright brown eyes were closed and his body was seemingly drenched in blood from the fight. Yet, somehow he still looked so peaceful and if Rey forgot about the fight, the blood and the sweat that now caked their bodies, she could almost imagine that it was just them.

Ben and Rey.

Living in a galaxy with a much brighter future.

The Sith were gone and they were finally free.

Rey grabbed Ben Solo’s remaining hand in her own, before she finally fell limp and let unconsciousness claim her.

The nightmares were finally over and suddenly, she understood what Master Qui-Gon Jinn had meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	48. Beginnings and Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new future rests on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

_ Water pooled at her feet, seeming to stretch on into infinity, as red, yellows and blues decked the horizon. Exactly like it had been in her vision, back when her and Ben had been headed off to Ilum. _

_ A time that now felt so long ago. _

_ Flashes of Darth Sidious’s defeat seemed to play in a non-stop loop in Rey’s head and she could hardly believe that he was finally gone. It just felt so surreal. Still, a flicker of guilt stirred within her, mixed in with the initial relief, as Rey, once again, recalled how the man that she had killed hadn’t really been a Sith Lord. Instead, he’d just been. However, Rey knew logically at the end of the day, Sheev Palpatine had had to be destroyed. After all, he was simply too dangerous to be left alive, no matter his state of mind, because the risk was too great that the once great Dark Lord of the Sith could’ve come back. _

_ A presence suddenly appeared next to her and she turned, half expecting to find Qui-Gon Jinn, but instead only came face to face with Ben. _

_ Ben. _

_ Rey leapt forward, enveloping him in a tight embrace, because they’d done it. The nightmares were finally over and now, they were free.  _

_ Confusion was written all over Ben’s features, since after all, he had never been to this place unlike Rey. So, it took him a moment to return Rey’s embrace, but when he did, he held onto her like the galaxy was about to fall apart and take them with it. _

_ “Ben,” Rey breathed into his shoulder, “Ben, we did it.” _

_ Ben tightened his embrace, “it’s finally over.” _

_ “Yes,” a new voice sounded from behind them and they flung apart, spinning around to find Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn eyeing them with a gentle kindness. _

_ Ben’s eyes narrowed, “who are you?” _

_ For a moment, the apparition of Qui-Gon Jinn was silent, but then, when he finally did speak his voice was warm like a gentle fire, “I was once Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn.” _

_ Ben’s eyes widened, “you’re the one that Rey talked about.” _

_ “Yes,” Qui-Gon affirmed, before raising a hand to stroke his beard thoughtfully, a gesture that subtly reminded Rey of Obi-Wan. _

_ A soft silence fell over the trio again before Qui-Gon spoke, once more. _

_ “Now,” he began, “I will grant you both a choice. You may return to your timeline and be placed right after you defeated Darth Sidious during the Battle of Exegol. All of your injuries will be healed. However, I cannot guarantee that the Resistance will not execute Ben Solo for his crimes,” Ben stiffened. However, an odd flicker of resignation flared through his eyes, just as well, that made Rey grab his hand, tightly, in a protective gesture.  _

_ She’d already made up her mind. _

_ “Or,” Qui-Gon continued, “you may stay here in this timeline. However, because of everything you’ve changed, the galaxy will be very different and many people who you came to know and love will no longer even exist. Still, in this timeline, you both have the possibility of a bright future should you wish to pursue it,” the Jedi Master paused, “whatever you decide though, is entirely up to you.” _

_ Rey didn’t even pause to think after Qui-Gon Jinn had finished speaking. _

_ “We’re going to stay in this timeline, Master Qui-Gon,” she asserted. _

_ A gentle hand fell on her shoulder, “Rey? Are you sure that you want to do this? I mean, if we do you’ll never get to see your friends from the Resistance again. After all, it’s quite possible that there’ll be no Finn, no Poe nor anyone else there, based upon what Master Qui-Gon’s saying.” _

_ Rey flicked her gaze away from Qui-Gon to meet Ben’s shining brown eyes, riddled with what looked like a million emotions. _

_ “I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life, except loving you.” _

_ Ben smiled a smile that seemed to hold the power of a million suns. _

_ “Okay.” _

* * *

_ After Ben and Rey had made their final decision, Qui-Gon Jinn closed their last remaining door to their original timeline and sent them back to the alternate one. However, just as he was about to retreat back into the Force, a sudden urge overcame him. _

_ After seeing how much Ben and Rey cared for each other, it made him recall a memory from long ago, back when he’d still been alive. _

_ Sentiment. _

_ Qui-Gon Jinn’s presence drifted through the Halls of Healing, seeking out the one, of which. he wished to see. The one person, of whom, he could always think back upon with a fond smile upon his face, as he recalled their past adventures, before his ultimate demise on Naboo. _

_ He wondered how he had felt upon his passing. After all, the bond between the two of them had always been strong, since their very first meeting, and he found that whenever he tried to conjure up a list of people of whom he was the most proud of, this person was very high up the list, if not at number one. _

_ As Qui-Gon Jinn continued to drift along, he curiously observed the force signatures all around him. After Order 66, many of the Jedi had been eradicated, leaving the Temple feeling oddly bare. _

_ Masters Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura had perished, together, on a mission. Master Saesee Tiin had died at the Temple, while defending a pack of Younglings, who had also perished shortly thereafter. Master Cin Drallig had died in a similar manner. Master Luminara Unduli had fallen on a solo mission, seperated from her Padawan, Barriss Offee who had also perished, just as well. Although, her ultimate demise had come at the Jedi Temple with Ahsoka Tano. Master Plo Koon had been blasted to death by his Commander, Commander Wolffe. Master Adi Gallia had also been blasted to death by the clones at the Jedi Temple. Master Depa Billaba had died protecting a Youngling named Caleb Dume, who had only lived, because Order 66 had been killed right after the Jedi Master’s death. _

_ Those were only a few out of the thousands who had fallen. _

_ Still, Qui-Gon had hope for the future. He knew that the Jedi would rebuild and one day, become even stronger than before. Hopefully, after experiencing such death and destruction they would also be able to realize the shortcomings of the Republic, which would then, hopefully prevent them from just bending to its will in the future. _

_ Finally, Master Qui-Gon Jinn came upon the room that he had been looking for and walked inside. _

_The one who he’d been searching for was asleep with the steady beeping of machines that monitored his condition at his side. Qui-Gon had to admit that he looked quite different now, but then again, he supposed that it had been quite a while since he’d gotten a really good glimpse of him._

_ His hair was longer and he looked more scarred and tattered than he had been in Qui-Gon’s last living memories. Still, he knew that he was the same person all the same, if not better now. _

_ Qui-Gon was so proud of him and of how far he’d come. _

_ So, he’d grant him one last wish. _

* * *

_ He was in a grassy, green field on some planet that looked oddly reminiscent of a mix between Shili and Mirial, if such a thing were even possible. Birds swooped down from up above, a clear lake glistened only meters away from where he stood and a gentle breeze flowed through the air. _

_ It was… peaceful. _

_ “Hello Anakin,” a familiar voice sounded from behind him and he spun around to be met with the face of a ghost. _

_ The Padawan who he had failed. _

_ The Padawan who had died. _

_ Except, was she really dead? For if she was dead, then how was she here? _

_ “Ahsoka,” he breathed, as tears began to well at the corners of his eyes, “Ahsoka, I’m so sorry… our argument, it was so stupid and I… I never should have spoken to you like that… but, I thought you died… and how… h-how are you here? And… wh-where is here?” However, before his Padawan could even conjure up a proper response, Anakin couldn’t take it any longer and leapt forward to envelop Ahsoka in a hug. _

_ He fell right through her. _

_ Terror rimmed his frantic blue-eyed gaze, as his new dark reality began to set in, once more. _

_ “No,” he gasped, “no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!” Anakin’s breathing quickened until he was practically hyperventilating, “I can’t lose you, please Ahsoka. I- I just c-can’t… not again… not again. I mean, you have to be alive. Please, Ahsoka! Please! Here… maybe I… maybe I.. I- I- I can save you! I,” Anakin flung a frantic hand through his hair, “I can u-use that technique that Rey taught me, alright? I can save you, Ahsoka! I can save you! Because I can’t lose you… please, I- I can’t lose you too…” sobs wracked through Anakin Skywalker’s body, as his voice drifted off and his head fell heavily into his hands, while he broke down in front of his late apprentice. _

_ “You need to learn to let me go, Skyguy,” that gentle, familiar voice sounded, once more, and Anakin raised his head to eye his young Padawan through blurry eyes. “I know it’ll be hard, but you need to learn to move on,” Ahsoka sighed. “Don’t worry about me, I’m happy here, Anakin. I’m fine now… and you deserve to be happy too.” _

_ “But how can I be happy knowing that it’s my fault you're gone?” _

_ A flicker of shock ran through Ahsoka and she did her best to place a hand on his shoulder, just so that it wouldn’t fall through. It was a show of comfort and kindness, because even though they were in two completely different states of being, Ahsoka still seemingly wanted to remind him that she would be with him. Always. _

_ “It’s not your fault, Anakin, and it never was. The only one who holds the blame is Darth Sidious, if anyone, because he was the one who orchestrated all of this,” she sighed, “you can’t blame yourself for something that was completely out of your control.” _

_ “But if I’d brought you with me, then maybe you would’ve lived! Maybe I could’ve protected you! I should have listened to you, Ahsoka… I should have let you come with me, because if I had… if I had you wouldn’t be… you w-wouldn’t be  _ dead _ ,” Anakin’s voice cracked. _

_ Ahsoka frowned, “no, Anakin. If I’d have gone with you, I know that I still would’ve died. Darth Sidious would’ve been way too powerful for me to even stand a chance and… and the death that I had wasn’t all that bad, anyways, not in the end at least,” she paused, “so, you were right in keeping me at the Jedi Temple. You were right and… and while perhaps, it may, despite my words, still take you some time to accept that it wasn’t your fault for yourself, you just have to trust me when I say that it wasn’t.” Ahsoka’s gaze softened, “And remember, Anakin, that I am okay now and one with the Force. So, I will be with you, always.” _

_ Anakin brushed away the tears that stained his cheeks. _

_ “I’m going to miss you, Snips.” _

_ Ahsoka smiled, warm and familiar. A smile that he knew he’d miss, forever. _

_ “Goodbye, Skyguy.” _

Anakin Skywalker awoke within the Halls of Healing to the steady beeping of machines that monitored his condition at his side.

At that moment, he didn’t even care about the implications of what that meant. Instead, he just placed his head in his hands and cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	49. In the Kaleidoscope of the Galaxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The future settles on an altered path.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

A canvas of stars flickered overhead, as the galaxy seemed to envelope all of those below.

After Darth Sidious had been defeated and his true identity had been revealed to the galaxy, the Republic had been thrust into a political upheaval. Still, it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed. After all, there were already two very welcomed and trustworthy candidates rising in favor of being the next Chancellor: Senators Padmé Amidala and Bail Organa.

Either of the two would end up being a great pick and help thrust the Republic into a better and much more orderly state.

Along with that, after a search team was sent to go and investigate the former Chancellor’s office and apartment, they were able to uncover some old documents and recordings, which revealed how he had orchestrated the entire Clone Wars. For in the midst of all of his power and confidence, Sheev Palpatine had thought himself to be untouchable.

But he was not.

No one was.

In the aftermath of Order 66, many Jedi were lost, despite most having received warnings from Master Yoda himself. Thus, only about a hundred Jedi remained with perhaps a couple of others still in hiding, who had yet to hear the news that it was safe to come out. In the wake of such a tragedy, it left the Jedi realizing some of the most integral flaws of their ways and how if they didn’t want a repeat of what had happened, they needed to change. At least to some degree. So, already, Ben and Rey had started up talks about some of the most important things that they felt like the Jedi Order needed to alter, in order to procure a brighter future for the Jedi Order, with the remaining members of the Council: Master Yoda, Master Kenobi and Master Windu.

The rest of the Council had perished during Order 66.

The top two things that they argued for were the allowance of love, claiming that it was not the same thing as attachment, and to offer up the opportunity of becoming a Jedi to force-sensitives between ages 9 and 16, rather than just taking them as infants at birth, thus, taking away their ability to choose their own futures.

So far, it seemed like the Council was actually listening.

Another direct result of Order 66 was that a big question had come into hand about what to do with the remaining clones. As of the Chancellor’s demise, talks were already in the way to reaching a nonviolent compromise with the Separatists, which would mean that the clones would no longer be needed for the war. Plus, after the mass genocide of the Jedi, it left many thinking that they were not to be trusted. However, after much deliberation and thought, the Senate had eventually ruled that the clone would have their inhibitor chips removed (another thing that had been discovered in those old documents and recordings that Palpatine had kept stored away) and be given the Republic’s support and help in finding new jobs throughout the galaxy. It was a very close vote though, with many of the Senators calling for decommission and thus, mass euthanization of the clones. Still, in the end, the majority had ruled in the clones favor and thus, they were finally free to live their lives the way that they wanted. However, many of the clones were greatly disturbed by their actions during Order 66, in how they’d so mercilessly slaughtered their Generals, who had trusted them, without a second glance. So, after having their chips removed, many of the clones just disappeared, rather than accepting the Republic’s assistance in finding work, never to be heard from again.

Another development was that after having lost his hand, Ben had gotten a prosthetic. At first, he had found it incredibly difficult to use. However, after a while, Anakin had finally seemingly taken pity on him and thus, had helped him learn how to use it, while adding a few of his own upgrades to it. It helped him keep his mind off of the pain of losing Ahsoka, because at least in helping Ben, he was able to fix something, rather than just dwelling on the one thing that he would never be able to fix.

Now, however, a week after all of the chaos, all of the remaining Jedi stood gathered on a planet called Ahch-To. A place that Rey had guided them to, in order to give all of the brave, who had fallen to Order 66, a proper send off.

Back where the Jedi Order had first started.

Thousands of pyres blanketed the island that Rey had led them too, the same one, in fact, where she had come searching for Luke Skywalker, back in a time that suddenly seemed so long ago and far away. Flames embraced the Jedi, who had once been, while the living ones stood vigil, all along the beach, watching as the fallen’s ashes fluttered into the air and embraced the starlight up above.

* * *

Standing there on that beach, Anakin leaned heavily against Obi-Wan.

Before him, lay what remained of his late Padawan on her funeral pyre, amongst all of the other fallen Jedi. It was unfair, he decided that she had to die and he got to live, because he knew to his very core that Ahsoka Tano would’ve grown up to become a remarkable woman.

Someone he would have been incredibly proud of.

In his mind’s eye, a million memories seemed to flicker by, of the girl who had been like a sister to him… maybe even a daughter.

Anakin often found himself wondering, if that dream that he had once had, back when he was still recovering from that final battle, had been real. Had that been Ahsoka and was she truly happy? Finally free of pain and suffering. He hoped so. However, another part of himself, the much more logical part, found himself in doubt over whether or not he actually had spoken to Ahsoka. After all, when they died weren’t they all just supposed to become one with the Force?

He supposed that he’d probably never truly know until he died himself.

Still, like Ahsoka had told him in his dream, Anakin knew that she would want him to ultimately live a happy life, rather than wasting away in his own sorrow and guilt. So, while all he really wanted to do was fall to the ground and wait for the tide to come in and take his weary body out into the depths of the sea, he knew that he could not. Instead, he had to stay strong and carry on. However, despite him accepting his need to move on with his life, Anakin would never forget Ahsoka. He would never forget her smile that always seemed to light up a room, her constant teasing, her kindness, her strength, her determination, her bravery nor anything else.

He would both miss and remember her until the day he died.

As flesh and blood finally vanished, having turned into dust on the wind in the vastness of the universe, the Jedi finally turned away from the funeral and retreated back to their starships.

Together, they left Ahch-To, the place where it had all started and as they departed the dark water of the seas below reflected off of the bottom of their ships until all of the Jedi had set their ships for hyperspace and disappeared into the vastness of the galaxy.

* * *

A day after the funeral, Obi-Wan sat alone in his quarters, reflecting back on everything that had happened.

He still couldn’t quite believe that it was all finally over. Ever since that fateful day when Darth Maul had skewered his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn on Naboo and then, when the Clone Wars had first truly begun after the First Battle of Geonosis, he had always been a little afraid that the darkness would never truly lift. However, now that Darth Sidious was dead, having finally been vanquished from the galaxy, the future suddenly looked so bright that Obi-Wan almost felt as if he were staring straight into a sun.

Still, despite the high possibility of a brightly unfurling future, Obi-Wan Kenobi still knew that the galaxy would continue to face trouble and many problems in that same future. After all, that was life. No matter what direction it took, there would always be the good things and the bad things, the tough questions and the hard decisions, life and death. That was just the way that life worked. There was no perfect past, present or future. Instead, there were just trillions of lives laid out upon the kaleidoscope of the galaxy.

Absently, Obi-Wan wondered what the other version of himself from Ben and Rey’s timeline would’ve thought of his life in this altered timeline. Of course, he was sure that the other Kenobi would’ve been sad about Ahsoka’s untimely demise, just like he was. However, at the end of the day, Obi-Wan was pretty sure that that alternate version of himself would’ve been pretty happy in this timeline or at least happier than he probably had been in his own. For here, at least Anakin didn’t Fall and the Empire didn’t rise. At least there was no more Darth Sidious and he had a chance to continue trying to live a life of peace without cold Imperials breathing down his neck.

At the thought of the peace that he would finally be allowed to have, Obi-Wan found himself falling back into memories from long ago, back when he’d been on that mission with Master Qui-Gon to protect Satine Kryze from the Insurgents, who had longed to kill her where she stood. Despite the running, hiding and endless days they spent just simply surviving, in those days he’d never felt more happy or peaceful with that intelligent, kind and beautiful woman at his side.

Suffice to say, he missed her.

Absently, Obi-Wan found his eyes flickering over to his holoprojector on the far side of his room. It’d been a while, since they’d last spoken and a part of him wondered if perhaps she’d forgotten all about him. Still, after losing Ahsoka, almost the entirety of the Jedi Order and nearly losing Anakin, Ben and Rey, just as well, he was done with the constant loss that seemed to both plague and define his life. For once, Obi-Wan just wanted to have something for himself. Still, a part of him argued that it was selfish to wish for such a thing and that instead of attending to his own dreams and desires, he should instead be focusing on helping others accomplish their own. Yet, after the many Council meetings with Ben and Rey, where they’d shared their concerns about the future of the Jedi and how they felt that they should change for the betterment of the future of the Jedi Order, it was looking increasingly more and more likely like love would be allowed within the Order amongst several other things. After all, the Jedi Order already encouraged compassion and was love not an extension of compassion?

In that moment, Obi-Wan Kenobi made up his mind.

Unlike his deep internal battle with himself that had ultimately ended in defeat the last time he’d tried to get himself to contact Satine, this time, when Obi-Wan stood up and walked over to the holoprojector, he did not falter in his steps. 

With a soft smile on his face, he dialed her frequency and waited

“Obi?”

“Satine… hi.”

* * *

Anakin sat in his and Padmé’s apartment, curled up next to her on a couch, while she absentmindedly stroked a hand through his hair.

“I keep telling myself that I have to… but it’s… it’s just so hard to let her go,” he sighed, closing his weary blue eyes.

“I know, Ani,” Padmé sighed, “I know, but she would’ve wanted you to be happy.”

Anakin bowed his head, “that’s what I keep telling myself.”

A silence fell between the two, as Padmé held on to her husband, keeping him close to her. Out of the two of them, Anakin had always known that she was the strong one, the one keeping both of them together. Since before he could remember, he had always wished that he had that ability, especially as a Jedi, to be met head-on with the hardest and most painful truths of life and still somehow be able to get right back to things. Anakin was a much more emotional person and because of that, doing so was not really in his nature. Something that often made others either love or fear him. Quite honestly, he’d always been jealous of people like Padmé and Obi-Wan, because of that. For while they were far from heartless, they always seemed to be able to focus on the bigger picture no matter how much loss they went through. At least from his point of view.

After all, in that other timeline, he’d become so broken and destroyed by his emotions that he’d become the feared Sith, Darth Vader.

Suddenly, it all just became too much and before Anakin even knew what he was doing, he began to tell Padmé everything. From how Ben and Rey had first arrived, to his discovery that they were from the future and everything that they had told him.

Of who he would’ve become.

Of how he’d been the one to kill her.

He expected Padmé to scream, run away, look upon him in horror, call him crazy or insane. Honestly, anything other than what she actually did.

“Oh, Ani,” she sighed, before pulling him into a strong embrace that he quickly reciprocated, trembling.

He couldn’t believe that out of any reaction that she could’ve had that this was the one that she was giving him.

What had he ever done to deserve someone like her?

Anakin doubted he’d ever truly figure it out. For the moment though, he’d just be content to know that his wife forgave him for anything that he could’ve possibly ended up doing and more than that, took his word for it that he was telling the truth.

Padmé always had seen the good in him better than anyone else in the galaxy, with the exception of maybe Obi-Wan, so, Anakin supposed that he didn’t really have much of a reason to doubt her in the first place. Anakin only hoped that he wouldn’t disappoint her in the future, like his alternate self probably had. In fact, he’d do everything in his power to make sure that he didn’t, because he loved Padmé and refused to repeat the mistakes of that other Anakin Skywalker, who became the feared Darth Vader.

He wouldn’t become a monster.

He would stay in the light.

He would be happy.

For Padmé, for Obi-Wan, for Ben, for Rey, for the Jedi, for the galaxy, for Ahsoka and… for himself.

Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi and a Jedi he would remain.

* * *

They were finally free.

After a few months, Ben and Rey had finally managed to alter some of the more troubling rules within the Jedi Order, during their talks with the Council. Thus, through all of their hard work, the Jedi were now allowed to love, start families and get married. Along with that, they’d also gotten the Council to see reason in how it was unjust to take future Jedi as infants and toddlers. Instead, they convinced them to wait until the force-sensitive children were somewhere between nine and sixteen, in order for them to decide for themselves whether or not they truly wanted to be a part of the Jedi Order. That way force-sensitives could choose the path of the Jedi, rather than having it chosen for them. Next to those two main key points, there were a couple of other things that they had changed, as well, however, none of them were quite as notable.

Then, after those talks had finished, Ben and Rey had been given the offer to join the Jedi Order, as Jedi Knights. However, after many late nights and much deliberation, Ben and Rey had decided to decline, in favor of starting a brand new life, somewhere else, where they could get married and start a family without the constant pressure of the Order weighing them down.

Rey still remembered their final goodbyes to Anakin and Obi-Wan.

“Are you sure you want to leave?” Anakin had asked, looking sorrowful.

Rey had nodded, “we’ve thought about it quite a bit, but yes. This is our path now, although I promise that we’ll make sure to visit in the future.”

Obi-Wan had smiled at that, “good.”

“We’ll miss you all,” Ben had finally said, before they entered their ship-a freighter that Ben had won in a game of Sabacc-and disappeared into the starry night sky, off towards their new home.

The planet that Ben had grown up on.

Chandrila.

After several more calculated wins in Sabacc, they bought a beautiful house, surrounded by grassy hills with land that stretched for several acres. Along with that, only about ten meters from their house lay one of the many seas of Chandrila, filled with beautiful, crystal clear water. All in all, the house was pretty far away from any of the central cities or even towns at that. However, with the freighter that Ben had gotten in that game of Sabacc and a comfortable Speeder that they’d purchased shortly after arriving on Chandrila, getting around wouldn’t be a problem.

Still, games of Sabacc weren’t a stable way to earn credits and so, both of them were already in the process of getting jobs. Luckily, they still had the fake identification papers from Master Yoda, so that definitely helped in finding suitable ones. Eventually, Rey found herself instated as a Projector Manager for a company that worked on the manufacturing of spacecraft. For the most part, she was able to work from home. However, every Primeday and Centaxday, she did have to physically go to work. Ben on the other hand had gotten a job as a flight instructor at a local academy, which required him to be there on Primeday, Centaxday and Zhellday. So, all in all, their schedules lined up fairly nicely.

After having secured their jobs, they’d then been quick to have their wedding, after having a mutual agreement between the two of them about wanting to get married. It had been a fairly small event and they’d only invited Anakin and Obi-Wan, since those were the two people in this new galaxy, who they felt like they knew the best. Upon their arrival however, it had turned out that not only Anakin and Obi-Wan had come, for following just behind them was a beautiful young woman, who reminded Rey oddly of Leia. Then, she’d suddenly realized why and just as she did, suddenly felt Ben stiffen next to her, seeming to have reached the same conclusion. Rey found it to be adorable in how upon meeting his grandmother, he’d almost appeared to be at a rare loss for words, like there was so much he’d wanted to tell her and yet, he wasn’t sure if he could. However, after shooting him a sympathetic glance and a small smile, Padmé had saved Ben from any further stress.

“It’s okay,” she had told him, “I already know who you are.”

After that, all of the tension of the moment had just seemed to fall from Ben’s shoulders.

After the wedding, they’d all gone to a local diner that Ben had apparently used to frequent with his parents, before he’d been sent off to go train with his Uncle Luke. A man, who Ben now finally seemed to be forgiving, just as he was forgiving himself. Of course, things would never be perfect in regards to the length of his forgiveness, but then again, when was anything ever truly perfect in life? Rey didn’t need perfection, because there was no such thing. Instead, she was just happy that he was trying.

It’d been hard to say goodbye after that meal, but they’d still managed to do it and see the trio off, before heading back to their home. This wouldn’t be the last time that they all saw each other anyways, of that Rey was certain.

So now, Rey stood by one of the windows in their house, staring off at the distant sea and it’s gentle lapping waves. It was at that moment that she realized that for the first time in her life, she was truly and completely happy, because she suddenly had everything that she’d ever wanted. Strong arms wrapped around her from behind and two hands, one metal and one flesh landed gently on her newly bulging abdomen. Rey turned her head to settle her shining brown eyes on Ben’s own.

She smiled.

For a long moment, everything was silent and then suddenly, they were kissing.

Happy and free.

Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading Back to the Past! I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be up by tomorrow.


	50. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse into the other side of things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the rights to any of these characters.

Finn and Poe never saw Rey again.

After the Battle of Exegol, they looked everywhere for her for two long months. However, with Leia now gone and their new government in desperate need of leadership and direction, the pair were eventually just forced to give up their search, in favor of helping the galaxy right itself, again.

It always bothered them, though, that they never even managed to find her body. After all, if their roles had been reversed, both Finn and Poe were certain that Rey would have uprooted the entire galaxy just to find them and were equally certain that she eventually would’ve. Still, Finn and Poe knew that they just had to learn to accept that they would probably never get any closure on the matter, as the years continued to fly by. However, every year that marked one more, since the Battle of Exegol, Finn and Poe would go down to that old Sith planet in the Millennium Falcon and sit a daylong vigil for their lost friend with three golden, blue and orange droids in tow. Together, they would share their fondest memories of their dear friend, who had helped save all of them and push the galaxy towards a brighter future. Next to that, though, they also just talked a lot about how much they missed her. For while they’d only really known each other for about a year at the time of Rey’s disappearance, after everything that they had gone through together, it felt like they’d known each other for so much longer. An eternal bond had been forged between the trio and it was one that would most likely never be broken. Not even by death.

It was a hard loss, but loss would always be a part of life and so, Finn and Poe just continued to do their best to move on. After all, they could not stop loss any more than they could stop the suns of Tatooine from setting. No one could. Not really.

Finn and Poe grew even closer than they were before over the next five years following the Battle of Exegol, as together, they worked to help build up a brand new system of government to replace the First Order, alongside other key leaders of the Resistance including Major Caluan Ematt and Major Taslin Brance. Suffice to say, they were incredibly busy. All throughout the entire process of change and creating the new government, however, they made sure that they were incredibly thorough in their work and clear in their wording. After all, everyone wanted a system of government that would help unify the people of the galaxy in truth, rather than tear it apart like pretty much every other preceding system of government had seemingly done, caught in the midst of lies and manipulation. Eventually, it was decided that the new form of government would be a Centrist Republic. At first, there were a couple of systems that were outraged by the decision to follow centrism rather than populism; a huge debate that had been one of the biggest factors of which had torn the New Republic to shreds. However, upon the disgruntled populist systems discovering that while the new form of government would still have a Chancellor, Senate, most of the other governing bodies of the previous Republics and secret service, it would also let each planet elect a Governor with a four year term that could only be renewed once, just like the Chancellor and now, the Senators, many of those populist systems quietened. After all, with planetary-elected Governors around, while planets wouldn’t have total sovereignty, they would have a heightened voice and be able to create laws of their own, as long as they did not conflict with the laws of the Centrist Republic. However, any laws that a planet made could still be overturned by the Senate, if it was proven to interfere with people’s freedoms.

All in all, the new system worked… at least for the moment.

The populist were content, especially since one of the huge points that they had made before the fall of the New Republic was that they wanted more of a voice for individual planets, which they now had, since for so long they had believed that planets needed to be allowed to have their own sovereigns, so that they could maintain order. So, now that the Centrist Republic was finally listening to and agreeing with their ideology was one of the biggest factors in winning them over. The centrists were, of course, happy for obvious reasons, since the government of the galaxy was a Centrist Republic based upon centrism. Finally, for the most part, people who either stood in the middle or even those who held completely different views from thinking either centrism or populism were better, had to agree that the government did a good job, compared to those of the past.

While Poe was encouraged to run for the role of Chancellor, upon the establishment of the Centrist Republic, he never did. Instead, the Centrist Republic’s first Chancellor was an older man, by the name of Lux Bonteri. Chancellor Bonteri did well in office and while sometimes he did make mistakes by being a little too much of a dreamer, for the most part, he was well liked and did a lot of good for the galaxy. However, despite not ever becoming The Chancellor, Poe did not completely step away from politics. For while he never did become Chancellor, he did serve in the Senate, as the Senator for Yavin 4. He kept his role for a four year term with Finn as his most trusted cabinet member. If he’d wanted to, Poe could’ve easily run for another four year term and won the race, however, he knew that, in order to help get the new government up and running, he needed to show the people of the galaxy that this new form of government was one of freedom and peace, rather than one filled only with power-hungry politicians. That was also a big reason as to why in the process of creating the Centrist Republic, the Resistance leaders had made sure to leave out any emergency powers that might let the galaxy's leaders stay in power longer than the average one or two four year terms that most positions offered. After all, no one wanted a repeat of Chancellor and later Emperor Sheev Palpatine.

As a few more years went by, Finn and Poe continued to grow closer until finally, Finn told Poe about how he believed that he was force-sensitive. Poe was fascinated by Finn’s revelation, but not incredibly surprised. After all, Finn did have the tendency for being oddly lucky, especially having defected from the First Order in the way that he did and getting away with it. However, upon Poe asking Finn if he wanted to try and hone his powers, he declined. Already, he’d seen what the Force had done to people like Rey and Kylo Ren. So, he wanted no part in it. More than that, though, the prospect of actively using the Force made him sad, because it reminded him of Rey and everything that he had lost. Poe, of course, was completely understanding of Finn’s stance on his newfound power and accepted his reasoning as to why he wanted to keep his abilities dormant. It wasn’t long after that that the two finally confessed their feelings for one another, started dating and then, eventually got married. The wedding was a small event, only attended by their closest friends, but it was perfect nonetheless and ironically, they actually had it back on Jakku.

Back where it had all started.

After getting married, the couple bought a comfortable little apartment on Chandrila, the planet where it had been decided that the Capital would be placed. Soon after arriving, though, they began to feel like something was missing in their lives, besides their lost friend from a time that now seemed to be so long ago.

So, they decided to adopt a baby and they named her Rey Dameron.

In memory of one of the wisest, most intelligent, kindest and intuitive friends they’d ever had.

Rey Dameron always did her best to live up to her namesake; the woman she’d heard so much about, and sometimes, if she closed her eyes, she thought that she could see her in her mind’s eye standing right there in the grassy fields of Chandrila. 

The girl ended up being very smart, as good a pilot as her Papa, Poe, and as caring as her Dad, Finn. Eventually, she even went on to become Chancellor, once she reached her late forties and was beloved by many of the people. She served for two terms.

Her parents were very proud of her and knew, without a doubt, that Rey would’ve been too.

Another fifteen years came and went.

Two old men made their way back to the planet, where that final battle had once occurred, during a time that now seemed so long ago. With them, were three droids and together, they sat their vigil for their lost friend, for what would end up being the very last time.

They hoped that if she had died that it had been painless and quick.

They hoped that if she had survived that she was happy.

After all, at the end of the day that’s all anyone can ever really do.

Whether it be in a galaxy far, far away or anywhere else for that matter.

Hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. 
> 
> I’ve had so much fun writing this fic for the past 50 days. It’s been an idea that I’ve had since TROS came out (not that I don’t like TROS, it’s actually one of my favorite Star Wars films), but I just never really got around to writing it until now.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who’s read, left kudos and commented on this fic. It’s been really fun talking to you guys down below in the comment section and getting to hear your thoughts. Also, to everyone who’s reading this during this crazy worldwide pandemic that’s going on right now, I hope that you all stay safe and healthy!
> 
> MTFBWYA


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